i 


CAMPATC      1      VORTHERN 


IRST  YBAB 


K 1  C  II  M  o  :n  D  : 
VEST     '        ')IINSTON.    145    MAI 
1 


THE  SECOND  BATTLE 


MAN'ASSAS: 


SKETCHES  OF  THE  RECENT  CAMPAIGN  IN  NORTHERN 
VIRGINIA  AND  ON  THE  UPPER  POTOMAC. 


PREPARED   FROM   SPECIAL    MATERIALS. 


BY  TUE  AUTHOR  OF  "THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  WAR. 


RICHMOND: 

WEST    &    JOHNSTON,   145    MAIN    STREET. 

1862. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1862, 
Bt  AVEST  &  JOHNSTON, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Confederate  States  for  the 
Eastern  District  of  Virginia. 


CHAS.  H.  WTXXK,  PRUTIB. 


SECOxND  BATTLE  OF  MANASSAS,  Etc, 


I. 


Little  more  than  three  months  have  elapsed  since  the  col- 
nmns  of  a  hostile  army  were  debouching  on  the  plains  near 
Richmond,  when  an  evacuation  of  the  city  and  a  further  re- 
treat of  the  Confederate  army  were  believed  by  nearly  all 
official  persons  the  m«st  prudent  and  politic  steps  that  the 
government  could  take  under  the  circumstances.  When  we 
recollect  these  'things,  and  compare  them  with  the  present 
position  of  affairs  and  the  menacing  attitude  of  the  victorious 
armies  of  the  South  on  the  frontiers  of  the  North,  we  are  lost 
in  amazement  at  a  change  of  fortune  so  rapid. 

But  it  is  to  be  borne  in  mind,  in  studying  so  violent  and 
unexpected  a  contrast,  that  the  late  forlorn  situation  of  the 
Confederacy  was  not  the  result  of  radical  weakness.  The 
South  had  always  the  power  to  excel  the  North  in  war ;  she 
was  beaten  for  awhile,  because  she  occupied  a  false  position 
and  was  placed  in  an  unnatural  attitude. 

As  the  opposing  armies  of  the  war  stand  this  day,  the 
South  has  causes  for  congratulation  and  pride  such,  perhaps, 
as  no  other  people  ever  had  in  similar  circumstances.  The 
North  had  a  population  of  twenty-three  millions  against  eight 
millions  serving  the  South,  and  of  these  eight  millions  nearly 
three  millions  were  African  slaves.  The  white  population  of 
New  York  and  Pennsylvania  was  greater  than  that  of  the 
Confederate  States.  Manufacturng  establishments  of  all  de- 
Bcriptions  rendered  the  North  a  self-sustaining  people  for  all 


4  SECOND  BATTLE  OF  MANASSAS,  ETC. 

the  requirements  of  peace  or  war  ;  and,  with  these  advantages, 
they  retained  tliose  of  an  unrestricted  commerce  with  foreign 
nations.  The  South,  on  the  other  hand,  with  only  a  few  in- 
Bignificant  manufactories  of  arms  and  materials  of  war,  textile 
fabrics,  leather,  &c.,  had  been  cut  off  by  an  encircling  blockade 
for  fifteen  months  from  all  those  supplies  upon  which  she  had 
depended  from  the  North  and  from  Europe,  in  the  way  of 
arms,  munitions  of  war,  clothing,  medicines,  and  many  of  the 
essentials  of  subsistence. 

The  South  was  without  the  vestige  of  a  navy,  except  a 
straggling  ship  or  two,  while  that  of  the  North  in  this  war  was 
equal  to  a  land  force  of  three  or  four  hundred  thousand  men. 
The  South  was  nearly  exhausted  of  the  commonest  articles  of 
food,  while  the  Northern  States  had  a  superabundance  of  all 
the  essentials  and  luxuries  of  life.  The  Northern  troops,  en 
masse,  were  better  armed,  equipped  and  subsisted  than  those 
of  any  other  nation,  while  those  of  the  South  were  armed 
with  all  sorts  of  weapons — good,  bad  and  indifferent — clothed 
in  rags,  fed  upon  half  rations ;  and  yet,  advancing  upon  the 
Northern  borders,  they  threatened,  at  least  so  far  as  to  alarm 
their  enemy,  the  invasion  of  Ohio  and  Pennsylvauia,  and  the 
occupation  of  the  Northern  capital. 


II. 

The  career  of  Gen.  McClellan,  after  his  useless  and  inglo- 
rious march  to  Manassas,  his  long  delay  on  the  banks  of  tho 
Potomac  and  Chesapeake,  his  final  landing  upon  the  Peninsula 
and  melancholy  experience  of  the  Chickahominy  sWanips,  found 
this  commander  at  last  at  the  head  of  an  immense  army  with 
the  Chickahominy  in  his  front.  lie  threw  a  portion  of  his 
army  across  the  river,  and,  having  thus  established  his  left, 
proceeded  to  pivot  upon  it,  and  to  extend  his  right  by  the 


SECOND   BATTLE   OP   MANASSAS,    ETC.  5    , 

right  bank  of  the  Pamunkey,  so  as  to  get  to  the  north  of  • 
Richmond.  Scarcely  had  he  done  so,  when  the  Confederates 
attacked  the  left,  which  had  crossed  the  Chickahominy,  in- 
flicted on  it  a  severe  defeat,  took  guns  and  prisoners,  and  only 
retired  when  a  large  and  supporting  force  of  the  enemy  was 
thrown  across  the  river. 

On  the  26th  of  June,  the  Confederates  directed  an  attack 
on  the  right  wing  of  the  Yankees,  between  the  Chickahominy 
and  Pamunkey,  in  heavy  force.  The  result  of  the  series  of 
engagements  which  ensued  was  the  liberation  of  the  Confede- 
rate capital,  a  sudden  illumination  of  the  fortunes  of  the 
South,  and  the  retreat  of  the  whole  Yankee  army  that  had 
threatened  Richmond  to  a  safe  point  on  the  James  River. 


III. 


The  defeat  of  McClellan  before  Richmond,  like  most  of  the 
reverses  of  the  Yankees  sustained  on  the  soil  of  the  South, 
was  the  signal  for  new  and  enlarged  preparations  in  the  North 
to  carry  on  the  war  and  contest  its  waning  fortunes. 

We  are  especially  called  upon  to  notice  the  spirit  of  the  pre- 
paration made  by  the  North  for  a  "  more  vigorous  prosecution 
of  the  war."  This  spirit  was  remarkable  for  its  venom  and 
for  a  display  of  violent  arid  brutal  passions,  which  had  been 
enraged  by  defeat.  There  had  long  been  a  party  in  the  North 
who  mistook  brutality  in  war  for  vigour,  and  clamoured  for  a 
policy  which  was  to  increase  the  horrours  of  war  by  arming 
the  slaves,  and  making  the  invaded  country  of  the  South  the 
prey  of  white  brigands  and  "loyal"  negroes.  This  party  was 
now  in  the  ascendancy.  It  had  already  obtained  important 
concessions  from  the  "Washington  government.  The  Confisca- 
tion Bill,  lately  enacted  at  Washington,  confiscated  all  tho 
slaves  belonging  to  those  who  were  loyal  to  the  South,  con- 


6  SECOND    BATTLE   OF   MAXASSAS,    ETC. 

»  stituting  nine-tenths  at  least  of  the  slaves  in  the  Confederate 
States.  In  the  Border  States,  occupied  by  the  North,  slavery 
■was  doomed  by  a  policy  of  slow  but  certain  extinction.  The 
work  of  emancipation  had  already  been  carried  out  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia  and  the  territories  of  the  United  States.  A 
military  act  had  also  been  passed  by  the  Yankee  Congress 
arming  the  negro  slaves  and  placing  them  at  the  disposal  of 
the  commanders  in  the  invaded  dist^jicts  of  the  South. 

These  concessions  to  the  radical  party  in  the  North  excited 
new  demands.  Tiie  rule  which  was  urged  upon  the  govern- 
ment, and  which  the  government  hastened  to  accept,  was  to 
spare  no  means,  however  brutal,  to  contest  the  fortunes  of  the 
■war,  and  to  adopt  every  invention  of  torture  for  its  enemy. 
The  slaves  were  to  be  armed  and  carried  in  battalions  against 
their  masters.  The  invaded  country  of  the  South  was  to  1|p 
pillaged,  wasted  and  burnt ;  the  Northern  troops,  like  hungry 
locusts,  were  to  destroy  every  green  thing  :  the  people  in  the 
invaded  districts  were  to  be-  laid  under  contributions,  com- 
pelled to  do.  the  work  of  slaves,  kept  in  constant  terrour  of 
their  lives,  and  fire,  famine  and  slaughter  were  to  be  the  por- 
tions of  the  conquered. 

This  malevolent  and  venomous  spirit  pervaded  the  whole  of 
Northern  society.  It  was  not  only  the  utterance  of  such 
mobs  as,  in  New  York  city,  adopted  as  their  war  cry  against 
the  South,  ^^ kill  all  the  inliahitants ;''  it  found  expression  in 
the  political  measures,  military  orders  and  laws  of  the  govern- 
ment ;  it  invaded  polite  society,  and  was  taught  not  only  as 
an  element  of  patriotism,  but  as  a  virtue  of  religion.  The 
characteristic  religion  of  New  England,  composed  of  about 
*  equal  quantities  of  blasphemy  and  balderdash,  went  hand  in 
hand  with  the  war.  Some  of  these  pious  demonstrations  were 
curious,  and  bring  to  remembrance  the  fanaticism  and  rhapso- 
dies of  the  old  Puritans.* 


■*  No  one  affected  the  peculiarity  of  the  Puritans  more  than  Got.  Andrews, 
of  Massachusetts.      The   followiug  p^ous   raut   is   quoted  from   ouo  of  hi» 


SECOND   BATTLE    OF   MANASSAS,    ETC.  .     7 

The  Yankee  army  chaplains  in  Virginia  alternately  dis- 
gusted and  amused  the  country  with  the  ferocious  rant  with 
which  they  sought  to  inspire  the  crusade  against  the  South. 
One  of  these  pious  missionaries  in  Winchester,  after  the  regu- 
lar Sunday  service,  announced  to  the  assembled  Yankee  troops 
an  imaginary  victory  in  front  of  Richmond,  and  then  called 
for  "  three  cheers  and  a  tiger  and  Yankee  Doodle."  In  a 
sermon  preached  near'  the  enemy's  camp  of  occupation,  the 
chaplain  proclaimed  the  mission  of  freeing  the  negroes.  lie. 
told  them  they  were  free,  and  that,  as  the  property  amassed 
by  their  masters  was  the  fruit  of  the  labours  of  the  blacks, 
these  had  the  best  title  to  it  and  should  help  themselves.  In 
Charlestown,  the  scene  of  the  execution  of  John  Brown  for 
violation  of  law,  sedition  and  murder,  a  sermon  was  preached 
by  an  army  chaplain  on  some  text  enjoining  "  the  mission  of 
proclaiming  liberty;"  and  the  hymn  given  out  and  *ung 
^iras — 

"John  Brown's  body  hangs  dangling  in  the  air. 
Sing  glory,  glory,  hallelujah  !  " 

These,  however,  were  but  indications  displayed  of  a  spirit 
in  the  North,  which,  with  reference  to  the  practical  conduct  of 
the  war,  were  serious  enough. 

■peechet  at  Worcester  ;  in  blasphemy  and  bombast  it  equals  afty  of  the  ful- 
minations  of  the  "Pilgrim  Fathers" — 

"  I  know  that  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  one  foot  on  the  earth  and  one  on  the 
■ea,  will  proclaim  in  unanswerable  language,  that  four  millions  of  bondmea 
•hall  ere  long  be  slaves  no  longer.  We  live  in  a  war,  not  a  riot,  as  we  thought 
last  year,  with  a  half  million  in  the  field  against  an  atrocious  and  rebellious 
foe.  Our  government  now  recognizes  it  as  a  war,  and  the  President  of  th« 
United  States,  fulminating  his  war  orders,  has  blown  a  blast  before  which  the 
enemy  must  fly.  Rebellion  must  fall,  and  they  who  have  stood  upon  the 
seeks  of  go  many  bondsmen  shall  be  swept  away  and  four  million  souls  rise 
to  immortality.^ 

"Ah,  foul  tyrants  !  do  j-ou  hear  him  where  he  comes? 
Ah,  black  traitors!  do  you  know  him  sis  he  comes? 
In  the  thunder  of  the  cannon  and  the  roll  of  the  drums, 
As  we  go  marching  on. 

"Men  may  die  and  moulder  in  the  dust — 
Men  may  die  and  ariiie  again  from  the  dunt. 
Shoulder  to  shoulder,  in  the  r.inks  of  the  just, 
When  Ood  is  ntorcMng  on. 


8     •  SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS,    ETC. 

By  a  general  order  of  the  Washington  Government,  the 
military  commanders  of  that  government,  within  the  States  of 
Virginia,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Florida,  Alabama,  Missis- 
sippi, Louisiana,  Texas  and  Arkansas,  were  directed  to  seize 
and  use  any  property,  real  or  personal,  belonging  to  the  in- 
habitants of  this  Confederacy  which  might  bo  necessary  or  con- 
venient for  their  several  commands,  and  no  provision  was  made 
for  any  compensation  to  the  owners  of  private  property  thus 
seized  and  appropriated  by  the  military  commanders  of  the 
enemy. 

But  it  was  reserved  for  the  enemy's  army  in  Northern  Vir- 
ginia to  exceed  all  that  had  hitherto  been  known  of  the  savage 
cruelty  of  the  Yankees,  and  to  convert  the  hostilities  hitherto 
■waged  against  armed  forces  into  a  campaign  of  robbery  and 
murder  against  unarmed  citizens  and  peaceful  tillers  of  the  soil. 

On  the  23d  of  July,  18G2,  General  Pope,  commanding  the 
forces  of  the  enemy  in  Northern  Virginia,  published  an  order 
requiring  that  "all  commanders  of  any  army  corps,  divisions, 
brigades,  and  detached  commands,  will  proceed  immediately  to 
arrest  all  disloyal  male  citizens  within  their  lines,  or  within 
their  reach,  in  rear  of  their  respective  commands.  Such  as 
are  willing  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States, 
and  will  furnish  sufficient  security  for  its  observance,  shall  be 
permitted  to  remain'  at  their  homes  and  pursue  in  good  faith 
their  accustomed  avocations.  Those  who  refuse  shall  be  con- 
ducted South,  beyond  the  extreme  pickets  of  this  army,  and  be 
notified  that,  if  found  again  any  where  within  our  lines,  or  at 
any  point  in  rear,  they  will  be  considered  spies  and  subjected 
to  the  extreme  rigour  of  military  law.  If  any  person,  having 
taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  as  above  specified,  be  found  to 
have  violated  it,  he  shall  be  shot,  and  his  property  seized  and 
applied  to  the  public  use." 

,  By  another  order  of  Brigadier-General  Steinwehr,  in  Pope's 
command,  it  was  proposed  to  hold  under  arrest  the  most  promi- 
nent citizens  in  the  districts  occupied  by  the  enemy,  as  host- 
ages, to  sufier  death  in  case  of  any  of  the  Yankee  soldiers 


SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS,   ETC.  ;     9 

being  shot  by  "  busliwliackers,"  by  which  terra  waS  meant  the 
citizens  of  the  South  who  had  taken  up  arms  to  defend  their 
homes  and  families. 


IV. 

The  "Washington  government  liad  found  a  convenient  instru- 
ment for  the  work  of  villainy  and  brutality  with  which  it  pro- 
posed to  resume  the  active  campaign  in  Virginia. 

"With  a  view  to  renewed  operations  against  Richmond,  large 
forces  of  Yankee  troops  were  massed  at  Warrenton,  Little 
Washington  and  Fredei'icksburg.  Of  these  forces,  entitled  the 
"Army  of  Virginia,"  the  command  was  given  to  Major-Gene- 
ral John  Pope,  who  boasted  that  he  had  come  from  the  West 
where  "he  had  only  seen  the  backs  of  the  enemy." 

This  notorious  Yankee  commander  was  a  man  nearly  forty 
years  of  age,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  but  a  citizen  of  Illinois. 
He  was  born  oi  respectable  parents'.  He  was  graduated  at 
West  Point  in  1842,  and  served  in  the  Mexican  War,  where  he 
was  breveted  Captain. 

In  1849  he  conducted  the  ^Minnesota  exploring  expedition, 
and  afterwards  acted  as  topographical  engineer  in  New  Mexico, 
until  1853,  when  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  one  of 
the  expeditions  to  survey  the  route  of  the  Pacific  railroad.  He 
distinguished  himself  on  the  overland  route  to  the  Pacific  by 
"sinking"  artesian  wells  and  government  money  to  the  amount 
of  a  million  dollars.  One  well  was  finally  abandoned  incom- 
plete, and  afterwards  a  perennial  spring  was  found  by  other 
parties  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  In  a  letter  to  Jefferson 
Davis,  then  Secretary  of  War,  urging  this  todte  to  the  Pacific, 
and  the  boring  these  wells.  Pope  made  himself  the  especial 
champion  of  the  South. 

In  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  Pope  was  made  a  Brigadier- 
general  of  Volunteers.  He  held  a  command  in  Missouri  for 
some   time  before  he  became  particularly  noted.     When  Gen. 


10  SECOND    BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS,    ETC. 

Halleck  took  charge  of  the  disorganized  department,  Pope  iraS 
placed  in  command  of  the  District  of  Central  Missouri.  He 
was  afterwards  sent  to  South-eastern  Missouri.  The  cruel  dis- 
position of  tlie  man,  of  Avhich  his  rude  manners,  and  a  vulgar 
bearded  face,  with  coarse  skin,  gave  indications,  found  an  abund- 
ant field  for  gratification  in  this  unhappy  State.  His  proceed- 
ings in  Missouri  will  challenge  a  comparison  with  the  most  in- 
fernal record  ever  bequeathed  by  the  licensed  murderer  to  the 
abhorrence  of  mankind.  And  yet,  it  was  his  first  step  in 
blood — the  first  opportunity  he  had  ever  had  to  feast  his  cj'cs 
upon  slaughter  and  regale  his  ears  with  the  cries  of  human 
agony. 

Having  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Major-Gencral,  Pope 
was  next  appointed  to  act  at  the  head  of  a  corps  to  co-operate 
with  Halleck  in  the  reduction  of  Corinth.  After  the  evacua- 
tion of  Corinth  by  Gen.  Beauregard,  Pope  was  sent  by  Halleck 
to  annoy  the  rear  of  the  Confederate  army,  but  Beauregard 
turned  upon,  and  repulsed  his  pursuit.  The  report  of  Pope  to 
Halleck,  that  he  bad  captured  10,000  of  Beauregard's  army, 
and  15,000  stand  of  arms,  when  he  had  not  taken  a  man  or  a 
musket,  stands  alone  in  the  history  of  lying.  It  left  him  with- 
out a  rival  in  that  respectable  art. 

Such  was  the  man  who  took  command  of  the  enemy's  forces 
in  Northern  Virginia.  His  bluster  was  as  excessive  as  his 
accomplishments  in  falsehood.  He  was  described  in  a  Southern 
newspaper  as  a  "a  Yankee  compound  of  Bobadil  and  Mun- 
chausen." His  proclamation,  that  he  had  seen  nothing  of  hia 
enemies  "but  their  backs,"  revived  an  ugly  story  in  his  pyvato 
life,  and  gave  occasion  to  the  witty  interrogatory,  if  the  gen- 
tleman who  cowhided  him  for  offering  an  indignity  to  a  lady 
was  standing  with  his  back  to  him  when  he  inflicted  the  chas- 
tisement. The  fact  was  that  Pope  had  won  his  baton  of  mar- 
shal by  bragging  to  the  Yankee  fill.  He  was  another  instance, 
besides  that  of  Butler,  how  easily  a  military  reputation  might 
be  made  in  the  North  by  bluster,  lying,  and  acts  of  coarse 
cruelty  to  the  defenceless.     On  what  monstrous  principles  he 


SECOND  BATTLE  OF  MANASSAS,  ETC.  11 

commenced  his  career  in  Virginia,  and  what  orders  he  issued 
are  still  fresh  in  the  public  memory. 

"  I  desire  you  to  dismiss  from  your  minds  certain  phrases, 
(said  Pope  to  his  army,)  which  1  am  sorry  to  find  much  in  vogue 
among  you.  I  hear  constantly  of  taking  strong  positions  and 
holding  them  ;  of  lines  of  retreat  and  bases  of  supplies.  Let 
us  discard  such  ideas.  The  strongest  position  a  soldier  sho\ild 
desire  to  occupy  is  the  one  from  which  he  can  most  easily  ad- 
vance upon  the  enemy.  Let  us  study  the  probable  line  of 
retreat  of  our  opponents,  and  leave  our  own  to  take  care  of 
itself.  Let  us  look  before  and  not  behind.  Disaster  and 
shame  lurk  in  the  rear." 

On  establishing  his  headquarters  at  Little  Washington,  the 
county  seat  of  Rappahannock,  Pope  became  a  source  of 
mingled  curiosity  and  dread  to  the  feeble  villagers.  They  wero 
in  a  condition  of  alarm  and  anguish  from  the  publication  of  his 
order,  to  banish' from  their  homes  all  males  who  should  refuse 
to  take  the  Yankee  oath  of  ajlegiance.  Dr.  Bisphaw  of  the 
village  was  deputed  to  wait  upon  the  Yankee  tyrant,  and  ask 
that  the  barbarous  order  be  relaxed. 

He  painted,  at  the  same  time,  the  agony  of  the  women  and 
children,  and  stated  that  the  effect  would  be  to  place  six  new 
regiments  in  the  rebel  service.  "  We  can't  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance,"  said  the  Doctor,  "and  we  won't — man,  woman  or 
child — but  we  will  give  a  parole  to  attend  to  our  own  business, 
afford  no  communication  with  the  South,  and  quietly  stay  upon 
our  premises. 

"I  shall  enforce  the  order  to  the  letter,"  said  General  Pope. 
"  I  did  not  make  it  without  deliberation,  and  if  you  don't  take 
the  oath  you  shall  go  out  of  my  lines." 

In  the  short  period  in  which  Pope's  army  was  uninterrupted 
in  its  career  of  robbery  and  villainy  in  Northern  Virginia, 
every  district  of  country  invaded  by  him  or  entered  by  his 
marauders  was  ravaged  as  by  a  horde  of  barbarians.  This 
portion  of  Virginia  will  long  bear  the  record  and  tradition  of 
the  irruption  of  the  Northern  spoilsmen.      The    new  usage 


12  SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS,   ETC. 

whicb  had  been  instituted  in  regard  tt)  protection  of  Confede- 
rate property,  and  the  purpose  of  the  Washington  government 
to  subsisf  its  troops  upon  the  invaded  country,  converted  the 
"Army  of  Virginia  "  into  licensed  brigands  and  let  loose  upon 
the  country  a  torrent  of  unbridled  and  unscrupulous  robbers. 
The  Yankee  troops  appropriated  remorselessly  whatever  came 
■witliin  their  reach.-  They  rushed  in  crowds  upon  the  smoke- 
houses of  the  farmers.  On  the  march  through  a  section  of 
country,  every  spring-house  was  broken  open ;  butter,  milk, 
eggs  and  cream  were  cngulphed  ;  calves  and  sheep,  and,  in 
fact,  anything  and  everything  serviceable  for  meat,  or  drink-, 
or  apparel,  were  not  safe  a  moment  after  the  approach  of  the 
Yankee  plunderers.  Wherever  they  camped  at  night,  it  would 
be  found  the  next  morning  that  scarcely  an  article,  for  which  the 
fertility  of  a  soldier  could  suggest  the  slightest  use,  remained 
to  the  owner.  Pans,  kettles,  dishcloths,  pork,  poultry,  provi- 
sions and  everything  desirable  had  disappeared.  The  place  was 
Btript,  and  without  any  process  of  commissary  or  quartermaster. 
Whenever  the  Yankee  soldiers  advanced  into  a  new  section 
the  floodgates  were  immediately  opened  and  fac  simile  Con- 
federate notes  (this  spurious  currency  being  manufactured  in 
Philadelphia  and  sold  by  public  advertisement  for  a  few  cents 
to  Yankee  soldiers)  were  poured  out  upon  the  land.*     They 

*  The  Northern  trade  in  this  counterfeit  money  was  open  and  undisguised ; 
enticing  advertisements  of  its  profit  were  freely  made  in  tiie  Northern  jour- 
nals, and  circulars  were  distributed  through  the  Federal  army  proposing  to 
supply  the  troops  with  "rel)el"  currency  almost  at  the  price  of  the  paper  on 
which  the  counterfeit  was  executed.  We  copy  below  one  of  these  circulars 
found  on  the  person  of  a  Yankee  prisoner  ;  the  curiosity  being  a  court  paper 
in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Commissioner  Watson,  of  Ilichmond  : 

"$20  Confederate  Bond! !  I  have  this  day  issued  a  Fac-simile  $20  Con- 
federate Bond — making,  in  all,  fifteen  different  Fac-simile  Rebel  Bonds,  Notes, 
Bhinplasters  and  Tostuge  Stamps  issued  by  me  the  past  three  months. 

Trade  supplied  at  50  cents  per  100,  or  $  4  per  1000.  All  orders  by  mail  or 
express  promptly  executed. 

B®f"  All  orders  to  be  sent  bj-  mail  must  be  aocompanied  with  18  cents  in 
postage  stamps,  in  addition  to  the  above  price  to  prepay  the  postage  on  each 
100  ordered.  Address,  S.  C.  Upuam, 

403  Chesnut  street,  Pliiladelphia. 

N.  B.  I  shall  have  »  $100  Rebel  Note  out  this  week." 


SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS,   ETC.  13 

vcre  passed  indiscriminately  upon  the  unsuspecting  inhabit- 
ants, poor  as  well  as  rich,  old  and  young,  male  and  female. 
In  frequent  instanc6s,  this  outrage  was  perpetrated  in  return 
for  kind  nursing  by  poor,  aged  women. 

These  spurious  notes  passed  readily,  and  seemed  to  be  takei 
gladly  for  whatever  was  held  for  sale.  Bank  notes  and  shin- 
plasters  were  given  for  chcmge.  Horses  and  other  valuable 
property  were  often  purchased  with  this  bogus  currency.  A 
party  of  "Yankee  soldiers  entered  a  country  store,  fortified 
with  exhaustless  quantities  of  Philadelphia  Confederate  notes, 
and  commenced  trade.  Forty  pounds  of  sugar  was  first  or- 
dered, and  the  storekeeper,  pleased  with  the  sudden  increase 
of  business,  called  in  his  wife  to  assist  in  putting  up  the 
order  in  small  parcels.  Seventy-five  cents  a  pound  was  the 
cost.  That  was  a  small  matter.  Matches  wore  purchased. 
Twenty-five  cents  per  box  was  the  charge.  Tobacco  also  found 
a  ready  market.  Each  man  provided  himself  with  a  straw 
hat ;  but  the  crowning  act  of  all  was  the  abstraction  from  the 
till  of  money  already  paid  to  the  dealer  for  his  goods,  and  the 
purchase  of  more  goods  with  the  same  spurious  medium. 

Such  acts  of  villainy  and  the  daily  robberies  committed  by 
Pope's  soldiers  were  very  amusing  to  the  Northern  people,  and 
gave  them  a  stock  of  capital  jokes.  "I  not  long  ago  saw," 
wrote  a  correspondent  of  a  Yankee  newspaper,  "  a  dozen  sol- 
diers rushing  headlong  through  a  field,  each  anxious  to  get  the 
first  choice  of  three  horses  shading  themselves  quietly  under  a 
tree.  The  animals  made  their  best  time  into  the  farthest  cor- 
ner of  the  field  with  the  men  close  upon  them,  and  the  fore- 
most men  caught  their  prizes  and  bridled  them  as  if  they  had 
a  perfect  immunity  in  such  sort  of  things.  A  scene  followed. 
A  young  lady  came  out  and  besought  the  soldiers  not  to  take 
her  favourite  pony.  The  soldiers  were  remorseless  and  unyield- 
ing, and  the  pony  is  now  in  the  army." 

It  is  not  within  the  design  of  these  pages  to  pursue  the  sto- 
ries of  outrage,  villainy  and  barbarism  of  the  enemy's  armies 
in  Virginia;   but  with  -vthat  we  have  said  intended  only  to 


14  SECOND   BATTLE   OP   MANASSAS,    ETC. 

show  the  spirit  of  that  army  and  the  character  of  its  leader, 
ire  shall  hasten  to  describe  the  series  of  events  which,  at  last, 
confronted  it  with  an  army  of  avengers  on  the  historic  Plains 
of  Manassas,  and  culminated  there  in  a  victory,  which  libp- 
fated  Virginia  from  its  invaders,  broke  the  "  line  of  the 
Potomac"  from  Leesburg  to  Harper's  Ferry,  and  opened  an 
avenue  for  the  first  time  into  the  territory  of  the  North. 


V. 


The  Northern  newspapers  declared  that  Pope  was  right 
when  he  said  that  he  was  accustomed  to  see  the  backs  of  his 
enemy,  and  were  busy  in  assuring  their  readers  that  his  only 
occupation  was  to  chase  "  the  rebel  hordes."  It  Avas  said  that 
he  had  penetrated  as  far  as  Madison  Court-house  without  seeing 
any  enemy.  The  Southern  troops,  it  was  prophesied,  would  keep 
on  their  retreat  beyond  the  Virginia  Central  railroad.  Pope's 
army  was  now  as  far  in  the  interiour,  by  overland  marches,  as 
»ny  of  the  Yankee  troops  had  ever  been.  The  position  of  his 
advance  was  described  as  about  ten  miles  east  of  Port  Repub- 
lic, with  an  eye  on  the  Shenandoah  Valley  ;  and  it  was  boasted 
that  the  second  Napoleon  of  the  Yankees  had  already  complete 
possession  of  the  country  north  of  the  Rapidan  River,  and  only 
awaited  his  leisure  to  march  upon  Richmond. 

These  exultations  were  destined  to  a  sharp  and  early  disap- 
pointment. The  Confederate  authorities  in  Richmond  knew' 
that  it  was  necessary  to  strike  somewhere  before  the  three 
hundred  thousand  recruits  called  for  by  the  Washington  gov- 
ernment should  be  brought  to  the  field  to  overwhelm  them. 
It  was  necessary  to  retain  in  the  strong  works  around  Rich- 
mond a  sufficient  force  to  repulse  any  attack  of  McClellan'^s 
army ;  but  at  the  same  time  the  necessity  was  clear  to  hold 
Pope's  forces  in  check  and  to  mak^  an  active  movement  against 


SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS,    ETC.  15 

him.  The  execution  of  this  latter  purpose  ■was  entrusted  to 
Jackson,  the  brave,  eccentric  and  beloved  commander,*  who 
had  achieved  so  many  victories  against  so  many  extraordinary 
odds  and  obstacles;  all  the  movements  of  the  campaign  being 
directed  by  the  self-possessed,  controlling  and  earnest  mind  of 
General  Lee. 

The  insolent  enemy  received  his  first  lesson  at  the  hands  of 
the  heroic  Jackson  on  the  wooded  sides  and  cleared  slopes  of 
the  mountainous  country  in  Culpeper.  In  consequence  of  the 
advance  of  the  Confederates  beyond  the  Rapidan,  Major- 
General  Pope  had  sent  forward  two  army  corps,  commanded 
by  Gen.  Banks,  to  hold  them  in  check. 

On  the  evening  of  the  8th  of  August,  a  portion  of  Gen. 
Jackson's  division,  consisting  of  the  1st,  2d  and  3d  brigades, 
under  the  command  of  Gen.  Charles  S.  Winder,  crossed  the 
Rapidan  River,  a  few  miles  above  the  railroad,  and,  having 
advanced  a  mile  into  Culpeper  county,  encamped  for  the  night. 
The  next  morning,  the  enemy  being  reported  as  advancing, 
our  forces,  Ewell's  division  being  in  advance,  moved  forward 
on  the  main  road  from  Orange  Court-house  to  Culpeper  Court- 
house, about  three  miles,  and  took  position — our  left  flank 
resting  on  the  Southwest  Mountain  and  our  artillery  occupy- 
ing several  commanding  positions.     At  12  M.,  our  fofces  com- 

*  There  hftve  been  a  great  many  pen  and  ink  portraits  of  the  famoui 
"Stonewall"  Jackson;  the  singular  features  and  eccentric  manners  of  this 
popular  hero  affording  a  fruitful  subject  of  description  and  anecdote.  A  gen- 
tleman, wiio  was  known  to  be  a  rare  and  quick  judge  of  character,  was  asked 
by  the  writer  for  a  description  of  Jackson,  whom  he  had  met  but  for  a  few 
moments  on  the  battle-field.  "He  is  a  fighting  man,"  was  the  reply;  "rougk 
mouth,  and  noEtrils  huL  as  a  horse's."  This  description  has  doubtless  much 
force  in  it,  although  blunt  and  homely  in  its  expression.  The  impression 
given  by  Jackson  ii  that  of  a  man  perhaps  forty  years  old,  six  feet  higl-, 
medium  size,  and  somewhat  angular  in  person.  He  has  yellowish-grey  eye  , 
a  Roman  nose,  sharp;  a  thin,  forward  chin,  angular  brow,  a  close  mouth, 
and  light  brown  hair.  The  expression  of  his  face  is  to  some  extent  unhappy, 
but  not  sullen  or  unsocial.  He  is  impulsive,  silent  and  emphatic.  His  dreii 
18  oflSeial,  but  very  plain,  his  cap-front  resting  nearly  on  his  nose.  His  tall 
horse  diminishes  the  effect  of  his  size,  so  that  when  monnted  he  appears  lesi 
ia  person  that  he  really  is. 


16  SECOND    BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS,    ETC. 

mcnccd  cannonading,  which  was  freely  responded  to  by  the 
enemy,  who  did  not  seem  ready  for  the  engagement,  which 
they  had  affected  to  challenge.  Indeed,  some  strategy  seemed 
necessary  to  bring  them  to  fight.  About  3  P.  M.,  Gen.  Early's 
brigade  (Ewell's  division)  made  a  circuit  through  the  woods, 
attacking  the  enemy  on  their  right  flank,  the  13th  Virginia 
ret^imcnt  beinii  in  the  advance  as  skirmishers.  At  4  o'clock 
the  firing  began,  and  soon  the  fight  became  general.  As  Gen. 
Jaclvson's  division,  then  commanded  by  Gen.  AYinder,  were 
rapidly  proceeding  to  the  scene  of  action,  the  enemy,  guided 
by  the  dust  made  by  the  artillery,  shelled  the  road  with  great 
precision.  It  was  by  this  shelling  that  the  brave  Winder  wag 
killed.  His  left  arm  shattered  and  his  side  also  wounded,  he 
Burvived  but  an  hour.  At  a  still  later  period,  a"  portion  of 
Gen.  A.  P.  Hill's  division  were  engaged.  The  battle  waa 
mainly  fought  in  a  large  field  near  Mrs.  Crittenden's  house,  a 
portion  being  open,  and  the  side  occupied  by  the  Yankees 
being  covered  with  luxuriant  corn.  Through  this  corn,  when 
cur  forces  were  considerably  scattered,  two  Yankee  cavalry 
.regiments  made  a  desperate  charge,  evidently  expecting  utterly 
to  disorganize  our  lines.  The  result  was  precisely  the  reverse. 
Our  men  rallied,  ceased  to  fire  on  the  infantry,  and,  concen- 
irating  their  attention  on  the  cavalry,  poured  into  their  ranks 
a  fire  which  emptied  many  a  saddle,  and  caused  the  foe  to 
vheel  and  retire,  which,  however,  they  effected  without  break- 
in""  their  columns.  For  some  time  the  tide  of  victory  ebbed 
and  flowed,  but  about  dark  the  foe  finally  broke  and  retreated 
in  confusion  to  the  woods,  leaving  their  dead  and  many  of 
their  wounded,  with  a  large  quantity  of  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion upon  the  field.  Daylight  faded  and  tl#  moon  in  her  full 
glory  appeared,  just  as  the  terrours  of  the  raging  battle  gave 
vay  to  the  sickening  scenes  of  a  field  where  a  victory  has  been 
"won. 

The  battle  of  Cedar  Run,  as  it  was  entitled,  may  be  charac- 
terized as  one  of  the  most  rapid  and  severe  engagements  of 
the  war.     In  ev6ry  particular  it  was  a  sanguinary  and  des- 


SECOND    BATTLE    OF   MANASSAS,    ETC.  17 

perate  struggle,  an'd  resulted  in  a  complete"and  decisive  victory 
for  our  arms.  Our  forces  engaged  amounted  to  about  eight 
thousand,  whilst  those  of  the  enemy  could  not  have  been  less 
than  fifteen  thousand.  Our  loss  was  near  six  hundred  killed, 
wounded  and  missing ;  that  of  the  enemy  little,  if  any,  less 
than  two  thousand.  We  captured  nearly  five  hundred  pri- 
soners, over  fifteen  hundred  stand  of  arms,  two  splendid  Napo- 
leon guns,  twelve  wagon  loads  of  ammunition,  several  wagon 
loads  of  new  and  excellent  clothing,  and  drove  the  enemy  two 
miles  beyond  the  field  of  battle,  which  we  held  for  two  days 
and'nigiits. 

The  battle  was  remarkable  for  an  extraordinary  and  terrific 
"artillery  duel."  In  fact,  the  fire  was  conducted  with  artil- 
lery alone  for  more  than  three  hours.  The  opposing  batteries 
unlimbered  so  close  to  each  other  that,  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  firing,  they  used  grape  and  canister.  Those  working 
our  battery  could  distinctly"  hear  the  hum  of  voices  of  the  in- 
fantry support  of  the  Federal  battery.  The  Louisiana  Guard 
artillery  and  the  Purcell  battery  were  ordered  to  take  position 
and  open  on  the  enemy  from  the  crest  of  a  hill.  Here  they 
found  themselves  opposed  by  five  batteries  of  the  enemy  within 
short  range.  The  battle  raged  fiercely,  the  enemy  firing  with 
great  precision.  The  accuracy  of  our  fire  was  proved  by  the 
fact,  that  the  enemy,  though  their  guns  were  more  than  twice 
as  numerous,  were  compelled  to  shift  the  position  of  their  bat- 
teries five  separate  times.  Once  during  the  fight,  the  enemy's 
sharpshooters,  under  cover  of  a  piece  of  woods,  crept  up  within 
a  short  distance  of  our  batteries  and  opened  on  them,  but  were 
instantly  scattered  by  a  discharge  of  canister  from  one  of  the 
howitzers. 


I 


18  SECOND    BATTLE    OP    MANASSAS,    ETC. 


VI. 


Tlie  battle  of  Cedar  Mountain  was  the  natural  preface  to 
that  larger  and  severer  contest  of  arms  which  was  to  baptize, 
for  a  second  time,  the  field  of  Manassas  with  the  blood  of 
Southern  patriots,  and  illuminate  it  with  the  splendid  scenes 
of  a  decisive  victory.  It  convinced  the  North  of  the  necessity 
of  a  larger  scale  of  exertion  and  a  concentration  of  its  forces 
in  Virginia  to  effect  its  twice-foiled  advance  upon  the  capital 
of  the  Confederacy.  It  was  decided  by  the  Washington  gov- 
ernment to  recall  McClellan's  army  from  the  Peninsula,  to 
unite  his  columns  with  those  of  Pope,  to  include  also  the  forces 
at  Fredericksburg,  and,  banding  these  in  a  third  Grand  Army 
more  splendid  than  its  predecessors,  to  make  one  concentrated 
endeavour  to  retrieve  its  unfortunate  summer  campaign  in 
Virginia,  and  plant  its  banners  in  the  city  of  Richmond. 

Not  many  days  elapsed  before  the  evacuation  of  Berkeley 
and  Westover,  on  the  James  River,  was  signalled  to  the 
authorities  of  Richmond  by  the  large  fleet  of  transports  col- 
lected on  the  James  and  the  Rappahannock.  It  became  neces- 
lary  to  meet  the  rapid  movements  of  the  enemy  by  new 
dispositions  of  our  forces;  not  a  day  was  to  be  lost;  and  by 
the  17th  of  August,  Gen.  Lee  had  assembled  in  front  of  Pope  a 
force  sufficient  to  contest  his  further  advance,  and  to  balk  his 
threatened  passage  of  the  Rapidan. 

After  the  battle  of  Cedar  Mountain,  the  forces  under  Stone- 
wall Jackson  withdrew  from  the  vicinity  of  the  Rapidan,  and 
■were  for  some  days  unheard  of,  except  that  a  strong  force  was 
in  the  vicinity  of  Madison  Court  House,  some  twelve  miles  to 
the  westward,  in  the  direction  of  Luray  and  the  Shenandoah 
valley ;  but  it  was  supposed  by  the  enemy  that  this  was  only 
a  wing  of  the  army  under  Ewell,  intended  to  act  as  reserves  to 
Jackson's  army,  and  to  cover  his  retreat  back  to  Gordonsville. 


SECOND    BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS,    ETC.  !# 

Not  SO,  however.  These  forces  of  Ewell,  as  afterwards  dis- 
covered by  the  Yankees  to  their  great  surprise,  were  the 
main  body  of  Jackson's  army,  en  route  for  the  Shenandoah 
valley. 

It  was  probably  the  design  of  Gen.  Lee,  with  the  bulk  of  the 
Confederate  army  to  take  the  front,  left  and  right,  and  engage 
Gen.  Pope  at  or  near  the  Rapidan,  while  Jackson  and  Ewell 
were  to  cross  the  Shenandoah  river  and  mountains,  cut  off  his 
supplies  by  way  of  the  railroad,  and  menace  his  rear.  The 
adventure,  on  the  part  of  Jackson,  was  difficult  and  desperate; 
it  took  the  risk  of  any  new  movements  of  Pope,  by  which  he 
(Jackson)  himself  might  be  cut  off.  It  was  obvious,  indeed, 
that  if  Pope  could  reach  Gordonsville,  he  would  cut  off  Jack- 
son's supplies,  but  in  this  .direction  he  was  to  be  confronted  by 
Gen.  Lee  with  the  forces  withdrawn  from  Richmond.  AVith 
the  movement  of  Jackson  the  object  was  to  keep  Pope  between 
the  Rapidan  and  the  Rappahannock  rivers  until  Jackson  had 
attained  his  position  at  Manassas,  or  perhaps  at  Rappah-mnock 
bridge;  but  Pope's  retreat  to  the  Rappahannock's  north  bank 
frustrated  that  design,  and  rendered  it  necessary  for  General 
Lee  to  follow  up  his  advantage,  and,  by  a  system  of  feints,  to 
take  Pope's  attention  from  his  rear  and  divert  it  to  his  front. 

On  Monday,  the  28th  of  August,  at  daybreak.  General 
Jackson's  corps,  consisting  of  General  Ewell's  division, 
General  Hill's  division,  and  General  Jackson's  old  division, 
under  command  of  General  Taliaferro,  and  a  force  of  cavalry 
under  General  Stuart,  marched  from  Jeffersonton,  in  Culpeper 
county,  and  crossed  the  Rappahannock  eight  miles  above  that 
place,  and  marched  via  Orleans  to  Salem,  in  Fauquier.  The 
next  day  they  passed  through  Thoroughfare  Gap,  of  Bull  Run 
mountains,  to  Bristow  and  Manassas  Stations,  on  the  Orange 
and  Alexandria  railroad,  effecting  a  complete  surprise  of  the 
enemy,  capturing  a  large  number  of  prisoners,  several  trains  of 
cars,  and  immense  commissary  and  quartermaster  stores,  and 
several  pieces  of  artillery.  Tlie  distance  marched  in  these  two 
days  was  over  fifty  miles.     On  Wednesday,  Manassas  Station 


20  SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS,    ETC. 

▼as  occupied  by  Jackson's  old  division,  whilst  Ewell  occupied 
Bristol,  and  Hill  and  Stuart  dispersed  the  force  sent  from 
Alexandria  to  attack  >vhat  the  enemy  supposed  to  be  only  a 
cavalry  force. 

The  amount  of  propertj'  Avhich  fell  into  our  hands  at  Manas- 
sas was  immense — several  trains  heavily  laden  with  stores,  ten 
first  class  locomotives,  fifty  thousand  pounds  of  bacon,  one 
thousand  barrels  of  beef,  two  thousand  barrels  of  pork,  several 
thousand  barrels  of  flour,  and  a  large  quantity  of  oats  and  corn. 
A  bakery,  which  was  daily  turning  out  fifteen  thousand  loaves  of 
bread,  was  also  destroyed.  Next  to  Alexandria,  Manassas  was 
probably  the  largest  depot  established  for  the  Northern  army 
in  Virginia. 

The  movement  of  Jackson  which  we  have  briefly  sketched  is 
the  chief  element  of  the  situation  in  which  the  decisive  engage- 
ments of  Manassas  were  fought.  In  this  connection  it  must  be 
studied  ;  it  was  the  brilliant  strategic  preface  to  the  most  decisive 
victory  yet  achieved  on  the  theatre  of  the  war.  The  corps  of 
Jackson,  having  headed  ofi"  the  Federal  army  under  Pope,  has 
BOW  possession  of  Manassas  Plains.  It  had  accomplished  its 
design,  which  was  to  force  Pope  back — deprive  him  completely 
ef  direct  communication  with  Washington  or  Alexandria,  and 
eventually  induce  his  surrender  or  anniliilation. 

The  principal  and  anxious  topic  in  the  North  was,  by  what 
eccentric  courses  the  famous  Confederate  commander  had 
managed  to  get  around  the  right  wing  of  Pope's  army,  wlien  it 
"was  supposed — and  in  fact  the  hasty  exultation  had  already 
been  caught  up  in  the  Yankee  newspapers — that  it  was  the 
"rebel"  general  who  Avas  cut  off",  and  that  he  would  probably 
make  a  desperate  retreat  into  the  mountains  to  escape  tiie  ter- 
rours  of  Pope.  Indeed,  it  was  some  time  before  the  full  and 
critical  meaning  of  the  situation  dawned  upon  the  prejudiced 
mind  of  the  Northern  public.  The  idea  was  indulged  that  the 
capture  of  Manassas  was  only  a  successful  raid  by  a  body  of 
rebel  guerrillas  ;  and  so  it  was  dismissed  by  the  newspapers  with 
ft  levity,  characteristic  of  their  insolence  and  ignorance. 


SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS,    ETC.  21 

Weak  and  credulous  as  General  Pope  was,  it  is  probable  that 
the  moment  he  heard  that  Jackson  Avas  in  his  rear,  he  was 
satisfied  that  it  vras  no  raid.  The  situation  had  been  changed 
almost  in  a  moment.  Pope  had  evacuated  Warrenton  Junctioa 
and  was  moving  along  the  railroad  upon  Manassas,  anxious  td 
secure  his  "line  of  retreat,"  and  expecting,  doubtless,  with  no 
little  confidence,  by  rapid  marches  of  a  portion  of  his  forces  bj 
the  turnpike  upon  Gainesville,  to  intercept  any  reinforcements 
by  the  way  of  Thoroughfare  Gap  to  Jackson,  and  to  fall  upon 
and  crusli  him  by  the  weight  of  numbers.  A  portion  of  the 
Confederate  army  now  fronted  to  the  South,  and  the  Fede- 
ral army  towards  Washington.  The  latter  had  been  swollen  bj 
reinforcements,  and  the  advance  corps  from  Burnsidc  was 
inarching  on  rapidly  from  Fredericksburg  to  complete  the 
amassment  on  the  Federal  side. 

Although  the  situation  of  Gen.  Pope  was  one  unexpected  bj 
himself,  and  surrounded  by  many  embarrassments,  he  yet  had 
many  circumstances  of  advantage  in  which  to  risk  a  great  and 
decisive  battle.  The  New  York  journals  persisted  in  declaring 
that  it  was  not  the  infallible  Pope,  but  the  "rebel  "  army  that 
was  "  in  a  tight  place."  At  any  rate.  Pope  was  not  in  the 
situation  in  which  McClellan  found  himself  when  his  right  wing 
was  turned  by  the  Confederates  in  front  of  Richmond — that  is, 
without  supports  or  reinforcements.  On  the  contrary,  on  his 
right,  and  on  the  way  up  from  Fredericksburg,  was  the  new 
army  of  the  Potomac  under  Burnside ;  while  advancing  for- 
ward from  Alexandria  was  the  newly  organized  army  of  Vir- 
ginia under  IMcClcllan.  Such  was  the  array  of  force  that 
threatened  the  army  we  had  withdrawn  from  Richmond,  and  in 
which  the  Northern  populace  indulged  the  prospect  of  a  certain 
and  splendid  victory. 

An  encounter  of  arms  of  vital  consequence  was  now  to  ensue 
on  the  already  historic  and  famous  Plains  of  Manassas — the 
beautiful  stretch  of  hill  and  dale  reaching  as  far  as  Centreville, 
varied  by  amphitheatres,  an  admirable  battle  ground  ;  with  the 
scenery  of  which  the  Southern  troops  associated  the  exciting 


n  SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS,    ETC. 

thoughts  of  a  former  victory  and  a  former  shedding  of  the 
blood  of  their  beloved  and  best  on  the  memorable  and  conse- 
wated  spots  that  marked  the  field  of  buttle. 

The  Engagement  of  Wednesday,  the  27tii  of  August. 

On  "Wednesday,  the  27th,  an  attack  was  made  by  the  enemy 
upon  Bristow  Station,  and  also  at  Manassas  Junction. 

On  the  morning  of  that  dfiy,  at  about  eleven  o'clock.  Gen. 
Taylor's  brigade,  of  Major-General  Slocum's  division  of  the 
army  of  the  Potomac,  consisting  of  the  first,  second,  third  and 
fourth  New  Jersey  regiments,  Avere  ordered  to  proceed  to 
Manassas  by  rail  from  their  camp  near  Fort  Ellsworth,  Alex- 
andria. , 

The  brigade  arrived  at  Bull  Run  brid";e  about  seven  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  The  troops  landed  and  crossed  the  bridge 
■with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  and  marched  towards  Manassas. 
After  ascending  the  hill  emerging  from  the  valley  of  Bull  Run, 
they  encountered  a  line  of  skirmishers,  of  the  Confederates, 
•which  fell  back  before  them.  The  brigade  marched  on  in  the 
direction  of  Manassas,  not  seeing  any  of  the  enemy  until 
•within  range  of  the  circular  series  of  fortifications  around  the 
Junction,  when  heavy  artillery  Avas  opened  upon  them  from  all 
directions.  General  Taylor  retired  beyond  the  range  of  our 
guns  to  the  rear  of  a  sheltering  crest  of  ground,  from  which  he 
■was  driven  by  our  infantry.  Crossing  at  Blackburn's  ford,  he 
was  pursued  by  our  horse  artillery,  which  fired  into  him,  creating 
the  utmost  havoc.  The  brigade  retreated  in  a  disorganized 
mass  of  flying  men  towards  Fairfax ;  it  was  pursued  by  our 
eager  troops  beyond  Centreville,  and  the  track  of  the  flying  and 
cowardly  enemy  was  marked  with  his  dead. 

The  flight  of  the  enemy  was  attended  by  the  most  wild  and 
terrible  scenes,  as  he  was  pursued  by  our  horse  artillery,  pour- 
ins  canister  into  his  ranks.  The  brigade  was  almost  annihi- 
lated.  General  Taylor  himself,  his  son  on  his  staff,  and  his 
nephew,  were  wounded  ;  also  one  half  of  his  officers. 

At  3  o'clock,  P.  M.,  of  the  same   day,  the  enemy  attacked 


SECOND    BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS,    ETC.  23 

General  Eirell,  at  Bristow,  and  that  General,  after  a  handsome 
little  fight,  in  which  he  punished  the  enemy  severely,  retired 
across  Muddy  Run,  as  had  previously  been  agreed  upon,  to 
Manassas  Junction.  This  attack  was  made  by  the  division  of 
the  enemy  commanded  by  Gen.  Hooker,  which  was  dispatched 
to  that  point  and  detached'from  the  advancing  forces  of  Pope, 
who,  of  course,  claimed  the  resuU  of  the  affair  as  a  signal 
Federal  success. 

Movements  of  Tuursday,  the  28Tn  of  August. 

After  sunset  on  Thursday  General  Jackson  accomplished 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  masterly  strategic  movements  of 
the  war.  He  found  himself  many  miles  in  advance  of  the  rest 
of  our  army.  The  enemy  might  throw  his  immense  columns 
between  him  and  Longstreet — Alexandria  and  Washington  was 
to  his  rear  when  he  turned  to  attack  the  enemy.  He  deter- 
mined to  throw  himself  upon  the  enemy's  flank,  to  preserve  the 
same  nearness  to  Alexandria,  to  place  himself  within  support 
of  the  remainder  of  our  army,  and  to  occupy  a  position  from 
which  he  could  not  be  driven,  even  if  support  did  not  arrive  ia 
time.  All  this  he  accomplished  that  night,  after  destroying 
the  stores,  buildings,  cars,  &c.,  and  burning  the  railroad  bridges 
over  Muddy  Run  and  Bull  Run.  He  marched  at  night  with 
his  entire  force  from  Manassas  Station  to  Manassas  battle-field, 
crossing  the  Warrenton  Turnpike,  and  placing  his  troops  in 
such  position  that  he  could  confront  the  enemy  should  they  at- 
tempt to  advance  by  the  Warrenton  pike  or  by  the  Sudley  road 
and  ford,  and  have  the  advantage  of  communicating  by  the 
Aldie  road  with  Longstreet,  should  he  not  have  passed  the 
Thoroughfare  Gap,  and  at  all  events  gain  for  himself  a  safe 
position  for  tittack  or  defence.  At  7  o'clock,  A.  M.,  on  Fri- 
day, General  Stuart  encountered  the  enemy's  cavalry  near 
Gainesville,  on  the  Warrenton  pike,  and  drove  them  back;  and 
during  the  morning  the  2d  brigade  of  General  Taliaferro's 
division,  under  Colonel  Bradley  Johnson,  again  repulsed  them. 
It  was  now  ascertained  that  the  enemy's  column  was  advancing 


24  •     SECOND    BATTLE    OP    MANASSAS,    ETC. 

(or  retreating)  from  "Warrcnton,  along  the  line  of  the  railroad 
and  by  way  of  the  Warrenton  Turnpike,  and  that  they  intended 
to  pass  a  part  of  their  force  over  the  Stone  Bridge  and  Sudley 
ford.  Gen.  Jackson  immediately  ordered  Gen.  Taliaferro  to 
advance  with  his  division  to  attack  their  left  flank,  -which  was 
advancing  towards  Sudley  Mill.  Gen.  Ewcll's  division  marched 
considerably  in  the  rear  of  the  1st  division.  After  marching 
some  three  miles,  it  was  discovered  that  the  enemy  had  aban- 
doned the  idea  of  crossing  at  Sudley,  and  had  left  the  War- 
renton pike  to  the  left,  beyond  Groveton,  and  were  apparently 
cutting  across  to  the  railroad  through  the  fields  and  woods.  In 
a  few  minutes,  however,  he  advanced  across  the  turnpike  to 
attack  us,  and  Jackson's  army  was  thrown  forward  to  meet  him. 
From  this  sketch  of  the  movements  of  the  corps  commanded 
by  Gen.  Jackson,  it  will  be  seen  that  though  a  portion  of  our 
forces,  under  Gens.  EwcU  and  Jackson,  were  on  Tuesday  and 
and  a  part  of  Wednesday,  the  2Gth  and  27th  August,  on  the 
Orange  and  Alexandria  railroad,  between  Pope  and  Alexandria, 
on  the  approach  of  Pope  from  Warrenton  they  withdrew  to  the 
west  and  halted  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Warrenton  Turnpike, 
expecting  to  be  rejoined  by  Longstreet,  where  they  awaited  the 
approach  of  the  enemy  and  delivered  him  battle. 

The  Battle  of  Friday,  the  29th  of  August. 

The  conflict  of  Friday  occurred  near  the  village  of  Groveton, 
our  right  resting  just  above  and  near  the  village,  and  the  left 
upon  the  old  battle-field  of  Manassas.  The  division  of  General 
Anderson  had  not  yet  arrived,  and  the  corps  of  Longstreet  had 
not  been^ully  placed  in  position.  The  enemy,  probably  aware 
of  our  movements,  selected  this  opportunity  to  make  an  attack 
upon  Jackson,  hoping  thereby  to  turn  our  left,*  destroy  our 
combinations,  and  disconcert  the  plans  which  had  already 
become  apparent  to  the  Federal  commanders. 

Gen.  Longstreet's  passage  of  the  Thoroughfare  Gap  in  the 
face  of  a  force  of  two  thousand  of  the  enemy,  is  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  incidents  of  the  late  operations  in  Northern 


SECOND    BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS,    ETC.  88 

Virginia.  The  Gap  is  a  wild,  rude  opening  through  the  Bull 
Run  Mountains,  varying  in  width  from  one  hundred  to  two 
hundred  yards.  A  rapid  stream  of  water  murmurs  over  the 
rocks  of  the  rugged  defile,  along  which  runs  a  stony  winding 
road.  On  either  side  arise  the  mountains,  those  on  the  left 
presenting  their  flat,  precipitous  faces  to  the  beholder,  with 
here  and  there  a  shrub  jutting  out  and  relieving  the  monoto- 
nous grey  of  the  rocky  mass ;  and  those  on  the  right  covered 
thickly  with  timber,  impassable  to  any  but  the  most  active  men. 
The  strong  position  afforded  by  this  pass,  which  might  have 
been  held  against  almost  any  force  by  a  thousand  determined 
troops  and  a  battery  of  artillery,  had  been  possessed  by  the 
enemy,  who  had  planted  his  batteries  at  various  points  and 
lined  the  sides  of  the  mountains  with  his  skirmishers.  As  it 
was,  the  passage  was  effected  by  Longstrcet's  division  with  the 
loss  of  only  three  men  wounded.  The  Yankees  behind  the 
rocks  were  charged  and  driven  in  confusion  from  their  hiding 
places. 

Under  Jackson  and  Longstreet,  the  details  of  the  plan  of 
Gen.  Lee  had  been  so  far  carried  out  in  every  respect.  For 
ten  days  or  more  the  troops  of  both  of  these  Generals  in  the 
advance  were  constantly  under  fire.  The  former  had  been 
engaged  in  no  less  than  four  serious  fights.  Many  of  the  men 
were  barefooted,  in  rags ;  provided  with  only  a  single  blanket 
as  a  protection  agninst  the  heavy  dews  and  severe  cold  at  night ; 
frequently  they  would  get  nothing  from  daylight  to  daylight; 
rations  at  best  consisted  of  hard  bread  and  water,  with  a  rare 
and  economical  intermingling  of  bacon ;  and  the  troops  were 
in  what  at  any  other  time  they  would  have  characterized  as  a 
suffering  condition.  Notwithstanding  these  adverse  circum- 
stances, not  i  murmur  of  complaint  had  been  heard;  marches 
of  twenty,  and  in  one  instance  of  thirty,  miles  a  day  had  been 
patiently  endured,  and  the  spirit  of  the  army,  so  far  from  being 
broken,  was  elevated  to  a  degree  of  enthusiasm  which  foreboded 
nothing  but  the  victory  it  won. 

On  the  morning  of  the  29th,  the  "Washington  Artillery  of 


9$  SECOND    BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS,     ETC. 

New  Orleans  and  several  other  batteries  were  planted  Tipon  a 
high  hill  that  commanded  the  extensive  ground  over  which  the 
enemy  were  advancing,  and  just  in  front  of  this,  perhaps  a 
little  to  the  left,  the  fight  began.  The  Federals  threw  forward 
a  heavy  column,  supported  by  field  batteries,  and  under  cover 
of  their  fire  made  a  bold  stroke  to  divide  our  line.  The  blow 
fell  upon  a  portion  of  Ewell's  troops,  who  were  concealed 
behind  the  embankment  of  a  railroad,  but  no  sooner  had  the 
enemy  appeared  within  close  range,  than  they  received  a  terri- 
bly galling  fire,  which  drove  them  panic-stricken  from  that 
portion  of  the  field.  As  they  ran  our  artillery  opened  upon 
the  flying  mass  with  shell  and  round  shot.  Every  ball  could 
be  seen  taking  eifect.  The  enemy  fell  by  scores,  until  finally 
the  once  beautiful  line  melted  confusedly  into  the  Avoods. 
Again  they  renewed  the  attack,  and  gradually  the  fight  became 
general  along  nearly  the  entire  column  of  Jackson. 

As  the  afternoon  progressed,  however,  Gen.  Lee  discovered 
that  strong  Yankee  reinforcements  were  coming  up,  and  he 
accordingly  ordered  the  division  of  General  Hood,  belonging 
to  Longstreet's  corps,  to  make  a  demonstration  on  the  enemy's 
left.  This  was  done,  perhaps  an  hour  before  dark,  and  the 
moment  they  became  engaged  the  difference  became  perceptible 
at  a  glance.  Jackson,  thus  strengthened,  fought  with  renewed 
vigor,  and  the  enemy  not  knowing  the  nature  of  the  reinforce- 
ments, and  diverted  by  our  onset,  which  compelled  him  to 
change  his  lines,  was  proportionately  weakened.  The  result 
was,  that  at  dark  Hood's  division  had  driven  the  forces  in  front 
of  them  three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  our  starting  point,  and 
had  it  not  been  for  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  might  have  turned 
the  defeat  into  an  utter  rout. 

The  conflict  had  been  terrific.  Our  troops  were  advanced 
several  times  during  the  fight,  but  the  enemy  fought  with  des- 
peration, and  did  not  retire  until  nine  o'clock  at  night,  when 
they  sullenly  left  the  field  to  the  Confederates.  During  the 
aight  orders  came  from  head-quarters  for  our  troops  to  fall 
back  to  their  original  positions,  preparatory  to  our  renewal  of 


SECOND    BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS,    ETC.  27 

the  action  in  the  morning.  It  might  have  been  this  simple 
retrogade  movement  which  led  to  the  mendacious  despatch 
sent  by  Pope  to  Washington,  stating  that  he  had  wliipped  our 
army  and  driven  us  from  the  field,  but  confessing  that  the 
Federal  loss  was  eight  thousand  in  killed  and  "wounded. 

The  Battle  or  Saturday,  the  SOtii  of  August. 

The  grand  day  of  the  prolonged  contest  was  yet  to  dawn. 
For  two  days  each  wing  of  our  army  under  Generals  Longstreet 
and  Jackson  had  repulsed  with  vigour  attacks  made  on  them 
separately.  Gen.  Pope  had  concentrated  the  greater  portion 
of  the  army  under  his  command  for  a  desperate  renewal  of  the 
attack  on  our  lines.  Friday  night  found  those  of  our  men  who 
were  not  engaged  in  burying  the  dead  and  bringing  away  the 
wounded,  sleeping  upon  their  arms.  All  the  troops  of  Long- 
street's  corps,  with  the  exception  of  Gen.  R.  H.  Anderson's, 
which  was  only  three  or  four  miles  in  the  rear,  had  taken  their 
places  in  the  line  of  battle,  and  every  one  looked  forward  to 
the  events  of  the  coming  day,  the  anticipations  of  which  had 
sustained  our  soldiers  under  the  terrible  fatigue,  discomforts 
and  deprivations  of  the  ten  days'  tedious  march,  by  which  rein- 
forcements had  at  last  reached  the  heroic  and  unyielding 
Jackson. 

AYith  the  first  streak  of  daylight  visible  through  the  light 
mist  that  ascended  from  the  woods,  our  men  were  under  arms. 
The  pickets  of  the  two  armies  were  within  a  few  hundred  yards 
of  each  other.  Every  circumstance  indicated  that  the  battle 
would  commence  at  an  early  hour  in  the  morning.  The  waking 
of  a  portion  of  our  batteries  into  life  soon  after  daylight,  and 
the  frequent  cannonading  thereafter,  the  almost  incessant  skir- 
mishing in  front,  with  its  exciting  volleys  of  musketry,  all 
conspired  to  produce  this  impression. 

Our  line  of  battle  was  an  obtuse  crescent  in  shape,  and  at 
least  five  miles  long.  Jackson's  line,  which  formed  our  left, 
stretched  from  Sudley,  on  Bull  Run,  along  the  partly  excavated 
track  of  the  Manassas  Independent  line  of  railroad,  for  a  por- 


28  SECOND    BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS,    ETC. 

tion  of  the  way,  ami  thence  towards  a  point  on  the  Warrenton 
Turnpike,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  in  rear  or  Avest  of  Groveton. 

Longstreet's  command,  which  formed  our  right  wing, 
extended  from  the  point  on  the  turnpike  on  which  Jackson's 
right  flank  rested,  and  prolonged  the  line  of  battle  far  to  the 
right,  stretching  beyond  the  line  of  the  Manassas  Gap  Rail- 
road. 

It  is  tlius  seen  that  a  point  on  the  AVarrenton  Turnpike,  a 
mile  and  a  half  west  of  Groveton,  was  the  centre  of  our  posi- 
tion, and  the  apex  of  our  crescent,  whose  convexity  was 
towards  the  west.  It  was  here,  in  an  interval  between  Jack- 
son's right  and  Longstreet's  left  that  our  artillery  was  placed. 
Eight  batteries  were  planted  on  a  commanding  elevation. 

The  enemy's  line  of  battle  conformed  itself  to  ours,  and  took, 
therefore,  a  crescent  form,  of  which  the  centre  or  more  advance 
portion  was  at  Groveton,  whence  the  wings  declined  obliquely 
to  the  right  and  left.  Their  batteries  were  in  rear  of  their 
infantry,  and  occupied  the  hills  which  they  had  held  in  the 
fight  of  July,  18G1,  but  pointed  differently. 

The  disposition  of  the  enemy's  forces  was,  General  Ileintzel- 
man  on  the  extreme  right  and  Gen.  McDowell  on  the  extreme 
left,  while  the  army  corps  of  Generals  Fitz  John  Porter  and 
Seigel,  and  Reno's  division  of  General  Burnside's  army,  were 
placed  in  the  centre. 

The  elevation  occupied  by  our  artillery,  under  command  of 
Colonel  Stephen  D.  Lee,  of  South  Carolina,  was  the  most  com- 
manding ground  that  could  have  been  selected  for  the  purpose. 
It  was  about  the  centre  of  the  entire  army.  To  the  front,  the 
land  breaks  beautifully  into  hill  and  dale,  forming  a  sort  of 
amphitheatre.  Around  the  field,  and  occasionally  shooting 
into  it  in  narrow  bands,  are  iieavy  woodsy 

Early  in  the  morning  the  immense  masses  of  the  enemy's 
infantry  were  seen  in  line  of  battle,  and  far  in  the  distance 
immense  clouds  of  dust  filled  the  heavens.  During  this  time 
our  batteries  were  pitching  their  shot  and  shell  into  the  Fede- 
ral ranks,  and  returning  the  fire  of  their  artillery  on  the  brow 


SECOND   BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS,    ETC.  B# 

of  an  opposite  hill.  Sometimes  it  was  fierce,  but  generally  it 
■\vas  a  deliberate,  casual  interchange  of  fire. 

About  1  A.  M.  a  regiment  advanced  rapidly  on  the  enemy's 
left,  determined  to  drive  out  our  pickets  from  an  orchard, 
where  all  the  morning  they  had  been  keeping  up  a  brisk  fire. 
This  effort  succeeded,  and  our  brave  sharp-shooters  retired 
through  the  orchard  in  good  order.  As  soon  as  they  got  well 
out  of  the  way,  our  batteries  opened  upon  the  enemy,  and  in 
ten  minutes  they  were  retreating,  sheltering  themselves  in  the 
ravines  and  behind  a  barn.  At  2  o'clock,  the  forces  that  had 
been  moving  almost  the  whole  day  towards  our  left,  began  to 
move  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  it  appeared  that  they  were 
retiring  towards  Manassas,  two  or  three  miles  distant.  Several 
attempts  were  now  made  to  advance  upon  our  left  like  those  to 
drive  in  our  pickets  on  our  right,  but  a  few  shells  served  to 
scatter  the  skirmishers  and  drive  them  into  the  woods  that 
skirted  this  beautiful  valley  on  either  hand.  When  it  appeared 
more  than  probable  that  the  enemy,  foiled  in  his  attempt  to 
make  us  bring  on  the  fight  by  these  little  advances  on  our 
right  and  left,  was  about  to  retire,  and  merely  kept  up  the  can- 
nonading in  order  to  conceal  his  retreat,  suddenly,  at  4  P.  M., 
there  belched  forth  from  every  brazen  throat  in  our  batteries  a 
volley  that  seemed  to  shake  the  very  earth. 

It  was  at  this  instant  that  the  battle  wai  joined.  As  the 
sporting  wliirls  of  smoke  drifted  away  the  cau»e  of  the  tumult 
was  at  once  discerned.  A  dense  column  of  infantry,  several 
thousand  strong,  which  had  been  massed  behind  and  near  a 
strip  of  woods,  had  moved  out  to  attack  Jackson,  whose  men 
were  concealed  behind  an  excavation  on  the  railroad.  As  soon 
as  they  were  discovered  our  batteries  opened  with  tremendous 
power,  but  the  Federals  moved  boldly  forward,  until  they  came 
within  the  range  of  our  small  arms,  where  for  fully  fifteen  minutes 
they  remained  desperately  engaged  with  our  infantry.  As  the 
fight  progressed,  a  second  line  emerged  from  the  cover  and 
went  to  the  support  of  those  in  front,  and  finally  a  third  line 
march«d  out  into  the  open   field  below  us  and  there  halted, 


89  SECOND    BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS,    ETC. 

hesitated,  and  soon  commenced  firing  over  the  heads  of  their 
comrades  beyond. 

Jackson's  infantry  raked  these  three  columns  terribly.  Re- 
peatedly did  they  break  and  run,  and  rally  again  under  the 
energetic  appeals  of  their  officers,  for  it  was  a  crack  corps  of 
the  Federal  army — that  of  Generals  Sykes  and  ^^lorrcU  ;  but 
it  was  not  in  human  nature  to  stand  unflinchingly  before  that 
hurricane  of  fire.  As  the  fight  progressed,  Lee  moved  his  bat- 
teries to  the  left,  until  reaching  a  position  only  four  hundred 
yards  distant  from  the  enemy's  lines,  he  opened  again.  The 
spectacle  was  now  magnificent.  As  shell  after  shell  burst  in 
the  wavering  ranks,  and  round  shot  ploughed  broad  gaps  among 
them,  one  could  distinctly  see  through  the  rifts  of  smoke  the 
Federal  soldiers  falling  and  flying  on  every  side.  "With  the 
explosion  of  every  bomb,  it  seemed  as  if  scores  dropped  dead, 
or  writhed  in  agony  upon  the  field.  Some  were  crawling  |on 
their  hands  and  knees  ;  some  were  piled  up  together  ;  and  some 
were  lying  scattered  around  in  every  attitude  that  imagination 
can  conceive. 

Presently  the  Yankee  columns  began  to  break  and  men  to 
fall  out  to  the  rear.  The  retreating  numbers  gradually  in- 
crease, and  the  great  mass,  without  line  or  form,  now 
move  back  like  a  great  multitude  without  guide  or  leader. 
From  a  slow,  steady  walk,  the  great  mass,  or  many  parts  of  it, 
move  at  a  run.  Jackson's  men,  yelling  like  devils,  now  charge 
upon  the  scattered  crowd ;  but  it  is  easily  seen  that  they  them- 
Belves  had  severely  suff'ered,  and  were  but  a  handful  compared 
■with  the  overwhelming  forces  of  the  enemy.  The  flags  of  two 
or  three  regiments  do  not  appear  to  be  more  than  fifty  yards 
apart.  The  brilliant  affair  has  not  occupied  more  than  half  aa 
hour,  but  in  that  brief  time  more  than  a  thousand  Yankees 
have  been  launched  into  eternity,  or  left  mangled  on  the 
ground. 

Ihe  whole  scene  of  battle  now  changes.  It  will  be  seen  in 
referring  to  the  disposition  of  our  forces  that  Jackson's  line, 
which  formed  our  left,  stretched  from  Bull  Run  towards  a  point 


SECOND   BATTLE  ,0P    MANASSAS,    ETC.  81 

on  the  Warrenton  turnpike.  In  his  severe  action  with  the  enemy 
his  left,  advancing  more  rapidly  than  his  right,  had  swept 
around  by  the  Pittsylvania  House,  and  was  pressing  the  P'ederals 
back  towards  the  turnpike.  It  was  now  the  golden  opportunity 
for  Longstreet  to  attack  the  exposed  left  flank  of  the  enemy  in 
front  of  him. 

Hood's  Brigade  formed  Longstreet's  left,  and,  of  course, 
charged  next  the  turnpike.  In  its  track  it  met  Sickles'  Excel- 
sior Brigade,  and  almost  annihilated  it.  The  ground  was  piled 
■with  the  slain.  Pickett's  Brigade  was  on  the  right  of  Hood's, 
next  came  Jenkins'  Brigade,  and  next  was  Kemper's,  which 
charged  near  the  Conrad  House.  Evans'  and  Anderson's  were 
the  reserve,  and  subsequently  came  into  action. 

Not  many  minutes  elapsed  after  the  order  to  attack  passed 
along  our  entire  line  before  the  volleys  of  platoons,  and  finally 
the  rolling  reports  of  long  lines  of  musketry,  indicated  that  the 
battle  was  in  full  progress.  The  whole  army  was  now  in  motion. 
The  woods  were  full  of  troops,  and  the  order  for  the  supports  to 
forward  at  a  quickstep  was  received  with  enthusiastic  cheers,  by 
the  elated  men.  The  din  was  almost  deafening,  the  heavy  notes 
of  the  artillery,  at  first  deliberate,  but  gradually  increasing  in 
their  rapidity,  mingled  with  the  sharp  treble  of  the  small  arras, 
gave  one  an  idea  of  some  diabolical  concert  in  which  all  the 
furies  of  hell  were  at  work.  Through  the  woods,  over  gently 
rolling  hills,  now  and  then  through  an  open  field  we  travel  on 
towards  the  front.  From  an  elevation  we  obtain  a  view  of  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  field.  Hood  and  Kemper  are  now 
hard  at  it,  and  as  they  press  forward,  never  yielding  an  inch, 
sometimes  at  a  double  quick,  you  hear  those  unmistakeable 
yells,  which  tell  of  a  Southern  charge  or  a  Southern  success. 

Reaching  the  vicinity  of  the  Chinn  House,  the  eye  at  once 
embraces  the  entire  vista  of  battle — at  least  that  portion  of  it 
which  is  going  on  in  front  of  Longstreet.  Some  of  our  men 
are  in  the  woods  in  the  rear,  and  some  in  the  open  field 
•which  stretches  the  undulating  surface  far  away  towards  Bull 
Run.     The  old  battle  ground  is  plainly  discernible  less  than 


82  SECOND    BATTLE    OF.  MANASSAS,    ETC. 

two  miles  distant,  and  to  tlie  rii^ht  and  left,  as  well  as  in  front, 
the  country  is  comparatively  unobstructed  by  heavy  woods. 
Just  before  you,  only  three  or  four  hundred  yards  away,  are 
the  infantry  of  the  enemy,  and  at  various  points  in  the  rear 
are  their  reserves  and  batteries.  Between  the  armies,  the 
ground  is  already  covered  with  the  dead  and  wounded,  for  a 
distance  lengthwise  of  nearly  a  mile. 

Our  own  artillery  are  likewise  upon  commanding  positions, 
and  you  hear  the  heavy  rush  of  shot,  the  terrible  dumps  into 
the  ground,  and  the  crash  of  trees  through  which  they  tear 
with  resistless  force  on  every  side. 

Nothing  can  withstand  the  impetuosity  of  our  troops.  Every 
line  of  the  enemy  has  been  broken  and  dispersed,  but  rallies 
again  upon  some  other  position  behind.  Hood  has  already 
advanced  his  division  nearly  half  a  mile  at  a  double-quick,  the 
Texans,  Georgians  and  Hampton  Legion  loading  and  firing  as 
they  run,  yelling  all  the  while  like  madmen.  They  have  cap- 
tured one  or  two  batteries  and  various  stands  of  colors,  and  are 
Still  pushing  the  enemy  before  them.  Evans,  at  the  head  of 
his  brigade,  is  following  on  the  right,  as  their  support,  and 
pouring  in  his  effective  volleys.  Jenkins  has  come  in  on  the 
right  of  the  Chinn  House,  and,  like  an  avalanche,  sweeps  down 
upon  the  legions  before  him  with  resistless  force.  Still  further 
to  the  right  is  Longstreet's  old  brigade,  composed  of  Virgin- 
ians— veterans  of  every  battle-field — all  of  whom  are  fighting 
like  furies.  The  First  Virginia,  which  opened  the  fight  at  Bull 
Run  on  the  17th  of  July,  1861,  with  over  six  hundred  men, 
now  reduced  to  less  than  eighty  members,  is  winning  new  lau- 
rels; but  out  of  the  little  handful,  more  than  a  third  have  al- 
ready bit  the  dust.  Toombs  and  Anderson,  with  the  Georgians, 
together  with  Kemper  and  Jenkins,  are  swooping  around  on 
the  right,  flanking  the  Federals,  and  driving  them  towards  their 
centre  and  rear.  Escholman,  with  his  company  of  the  Wash- 
ington Artillery ;  Major  Garnfett,  with  his  battalion  of  Virginia 
batteries,  and  others  of  our  big  guns,  are  likewise  working 


SECOND   BATTLE   OF  MANASSAS,    ETC.  33 

around  upon  the  enemy's  left,  and  pouring  an  enfilading  firo 
into  both  their  infantry  and  artillery. 

While  the  grand  chorus  of  battle  is  thundering  along  our 
front,  Jackson  has  closed  in  upon  the  enemy  on  their  right,  and 
Longstreet  has  similarly  circumscribed  them  on  their  left.  In 
other  words,  the  V  shaped  lines  with  which  we  commenced  the 
engagement  have  opened  at  the  angle,  while  the  two  opposite 
ends  of  the  figure  are  coming  together.  Lee  has  advanced  his 
battalion  of  artillery  from  the  centre,  and  from  hill-top  to  hill- 
top, wherever  he  can  eflfect  a  lodgement,  lets  loose  the  racing 
masses  of  iron  that  chase  each  other  through  the  Federal  ranks. 
Pryor,  Feathcrstone  and  Wilcox  being  on  the  extreme  left  of 
Longstreet's  line,  are  co-operating  with  the  army  of  Jackson. 

It  was  at  this  point  of  the  battle,  when  our  infantry  pouring 
down  from  the  right  and  left,  made  one  of  the  most  terrible 
and  sublime  bayonet  charges  in  the  records  of  war.  There  was 
seen  emerging  from  the  dust  a  long,  solid  mass  of  men,  coming 
down  upon  the  worn  and  disheartened  Federals,  at  a  bayonet 
charge,  on  the  double-quick.  This  line  of  bayonets,  in  the  dis- 
tance, presented  a  spectacle  at  once  awful,  sublime,  terrible  and 
overwhelming.  "  They  came  on,"  said  a  Northern  account  re- 
ferring to  the  Confederates,  "  like  demons  emerging  from  the 
earth."  With  grim  and  terrible  energy,  our  men  came  up 
within  good  range  of  the  enemy's  columns;  they  take  his  fire 
without  a  halt;  a  momentary  confusion  ensues  as  the  leaden 
showers  are  poured  into  our  ranks ;  but  the  next  moment  the 
bugles  sound  the  order  to  our  phalanxes,  and  instantly  the  huge 
mass  of  Confederates  is  hurled  against  the  enemy's  left  wing. 
The  divisions  of  Reno  and  Schenck — the  choicest  veterans  of 
the  Federal  army  are  swept  away.  Setting  up  a  yell  of  tri- 
umph, our  men  push  over  the  piles  of  their  own  dead,  and  the 
corpses  ef  many  a  Federal,  using  the  bayonet  at  close  quarters 
with  the  enemy. 

The  rout  of  the  enemy  was  ci)mplete.  It  had  been  a  task 
of  almost  superhuman  labour  to  drive  the  enemy  from  his 
strong  points,  defended  as  they  were  by  the  best  artillery  and 
3 


84  SECOND    BATTLE   OF    MANASSAS,    ETC. 

infantry  in  the  Federal  army,  but  in  less  than  four  hours  from 
the  commonceraent  of  the  battle  our  indomitable  energy  had 
accomplished  every  thing.  The  arrival  of  R.  H.  Anderson 
with  his  reserves  soon  after  the  engagement  was  fairly  opened, 
proved  a  timely  acquisition,  and  the  handsome  ninnner  in  which 
he  brought  his  troops  into  position  showed  the  cool  and  skillful 
General.  Our  Generals,  Lee,  Longstreet,  Jackson,  Hood, 
Kemper,  Evans,  Jones,  Jenkins,  and  others,  all  shared  the 
dangers  to  which  they  exposed  their  men.  IIow  well  their 
Colonels  and  the  subordinate  officers  performed  their  duty  is 
best  testified  by  the  list  of  killed  and  wounded. 

In  determining  the  fortunes  of  the  battle  our  cavalry  had  in 
more  than  one  instance  played  a  conspicuous  part. 

As  the  columns  of  the  enemy  began  to  give  way,  General 
Beverly  Robinson  was  ordered  by  Gen.  Longstt'cet  to  charge 
the  flying  masses  with  his  brigade  of  cavalry.  The  brigade 
numbering  a  thousand  men,  composed  of  Munford's,  Myers', 
Harraan's  and  Flournoy's  regiments,  was  immediately  put  in 
motion,  but  before  reaching  the  infantry  General  Robinson  dis- 
covered a  brigade  of  the  enemy  fifteen  hundred  strong  drawn 
up  on  the  crest  of  a  hill  directly  in  his  front.  Leaving  one  of 
his  regiments  in  reserve,  he  charged  with  the  other  three  full 
at  the  enemy's  ranks.  As  our  men  drew  near,  the  whole  of  the 
Yankee  line  fired  them  a  volley  from  their  carbines,  most  of 
the  bullets,  however,  whistling  harmlessly  over  their  heads.  In 
another  instant  the  enemy  received  the  terrific  shock  of  our 
squadrons.  There  was  a  pause,  a  hand-to-hand  fight  for  a 
moment,  and  the  enemy  broke  and  fled  in  total  rout.  All 
organization  was  destroyed,  and  every  man  trusted  for  his 
safety  only  in  the  heels  of  his  horse. 

Night  closed  upon  the  battle.  When  it  was  impossible  to 
use  fire-arms  the  heavens  were  lit  up  by  the  still  continued 
flashes  of  the  artillery,  and  the  meteor  flight  of  shells  scatter- 
ing their  iron  spray.  By  this  time  the  enemy  had  been  forced 
across  Bull  Run,  and  their  dead  covered  every  acre  from  the 
starting  point  of  the  fight  to  the   Stone  Bridge.     In  its  first 


SECOND    BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS,    ETC.  35 

Stages  the  retreat  of  the  enemy  was  a  wild,  frenzied  x-out;  the 
great  mass  of  the  enemy  moving  at  a  full  run,  scattered  over 
the  fields  and  trampling  upon  the  dead  and  living  in  the  mad 
agony  of  their  flight.  The  whole  army  was  converted  into  a 
mob;  regiments  and  companies  were  no  longer  distinguishable  ; 
and  the  panic  stricken  fugitives  were  slaughtered  at  every  step 
of  their  retreat — our  cavalry  cutting  them  down,  or  our  infan- 
try driving  their  bayonets  into  their  backs. 

In  crossing  Bull  Run  many  of  the  enemy  were  drowned, 
being  literally  dragged  and  crushed  under  the  water,  which  was 
not  more  than  waist  deep,  by  the  crowds  of  frenzied  men  press- 
ing and  trampling  upon  each  other  in  the  stream.  On  reach- 
ing Centreville  the  flight  of  the  enemy  was  arrested  by  the 
appearance  of  about  thirty  thousand  fresh  Yankee  troops — 
General  Franklin's  corps.  The  mass  of  fugitives  was  here 
rallied,  to  the  extent  of  forming  it  again  into  columns,  and 
with  this  appearance  of  organization,  it  was  resolved  by  Gene- 
ral Pope  to  continue  his  retreat  to  the  entrenchments  of 
Waslungton. 

Thus  ended  the  second  great  battle  of  Manassas.  We  had 
driven  the  enemy  up  hill  and  down,  a  distance  of  two  and  a 
half  miles,  strewing  this  great  space  with  his  dead,  captured 
thirty  pieces  of  artillery,  and  some  six  or  eight  thousand  stand 
of  arms.  Seven  thousand  prisoners  were  paroled  on  the  field 
of  battle.  For  want  of  transportation  valuable  stores  had  to 
be  destroyed  as  captured,  while  the  enemy,  at  their  various 
depots,  are  reported  to  have  burned-  many  millions  of  property 
in  their  retreat. 

The  appearance  of  the  field  of  battle  attested  in  the  most 
terrible  and  hideons  manner  the  carnage  in  the  ranks  of  the 
enemy.  Over  the  gullies,  ravines  and  valleys,  which  divided 
the  opposite  hills  the  dead  and  wounded  lay  by  thousands,  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  The  woods  were  full  of  them.  la 
front  of  the  Chinn  House,  which  had  been  converted  into  a 
hospital,  the  havoc  was  terrible.  The  ground  was  strewn  not 
only  with  men,  but  arms,  ammunition,  provisions,  haversacks, 


36  SECOND    BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS,    ETC. 

canteens,  and  whatever  else  the  affrighted  Federals  could 
throw  away,  to  facilitate  their  flight.  In  front  of  the  positions 
occupied  by  Jackson's  men,  the  killed  were  more  plentiful.  In 
many  instances  as  many  as  eighty  or  ninety  dead  marked  the 
place  where  had  fougjit  a  single  Yankee  regiment.  Around 
the  Henry  and  Robinson  houses  the  dead  were  more  scattered, 
as  if  they  were  picked  oflf,  or  killed  while  running.  The  body 
of  a  dead  Yankee  was  found  lying  at  full  length  upon  the 
grave  of  the  aged  Mrs.  Henry,  who  was  killed  by  the  enemy's 
balls  in  the  old  battle  that  had  raged  upon  this  spot.  Three 
otliers  were  upon  the  very  spot  where  Bartow  fell,  and  within 
a  few  feet  of  the  death  place  of  Gen.  Bee  was  still  another 
group.  A  little  further  on  a  wounded  Federal  had  lain  for  the 
last  two  days  and  nights,  when  by  extending  his  hand  on  either 
side  he  could  touch  the  dead  bodies  of  his  companions.  His 
head  was  pillowed  on  one  of  these.  Confederate  soldiers  were 
also  to  be  found  in  the  midst  of  these  putrifying  masses  of 
death  ;  but  these  were  comparatively  rare.  The  scenes  of  the 
battle-field  were  rendered  ghastly  by  an  extraordinary  circum- 
stance. There  was  not  a  dead  Y^'ankee  in  all  that  broad  field 
■who  had  not  been  stripped  of  his  shoes  or  stockings — and  in 
numerous  cases  been  left  as  naked  as  the  hour  he  was  born. 
Our  bare-footed  and  ragged  men  had  not  hesitated  to  supply 
their  necessities  even  from  the  garments  and  equipments  of  the 
dead. 

The  enemy  admitted  a  loss  down  to  Friday  night  of  17,000 
men,  Pope  officially  stating  his  loss  on  that  day  to  have  been 
8,000.  In  one  of  the  Baltimore  papers  it  was  said  that  the 
entire  Yankee  loss,  including  that  of  Saturday,  was  32,000 
men — killed,  wounded  and  prisoners.  Thts  statement  allows 
15,000  for  the  loss  on  Saturday.  That  the  loss  of  that  par- 
ticular day  was  vastly  greater  than  the  enemy  admit,  we  take 
to  be  certain.  They  are  not  the  persons  to  over-estimate  their 
own  losses,  and,  in  the  meantime,  Gen.  Lee  tells  us  that  over 
7,000  of  them  were  taken  and  paroled  on  the  field.  If  they 
fought  the  battle  with  anything  like  the  desperation  they  pre- 


SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS,    ETC.  8T 

tend,  considering  tliat  it  lasted  five  hours,  they  certainly  had 
more  than  8,000  killed  and  wounded.  Four  days  after  the 
battle  there  were  still  three  thousand  wounded  Yankees  un- 
cared  for  within  the  lines  of  Gen.  Lee.  It  is  very  certain,  if 
they  were  not  cared  for,  it  was  because  the  number  of  wounded 
was  so  great  that  their  turn  had  not  come.  Our  own  wounded, 
not  exceeding,  it  is  said,  3,000,  could  very  well  be  attended  to 
in  a  da}^,  and  then  the  turn  of  the  Yankees  would  come.  Y'et 
so  numerous  were  they,  that  at  the  end  of  four  days  three 
thousand  of  them  had  not  received  surgical  assistance.  This 
indicates  an  enormous  list  of  wounded,  and  confirms  the  report 
of  one  officer,  who  puts  down  their  killed  at  5,000,  and  their 
wounded  at  three  times  that  figure,  making  20,000  killed  and 
wounded,  and  of  others  who  say  that  their  killed  and  wounded 
were  to  us  in  the  proportion  of  five,  six,  and  even  seven  to  one. 
As  many  prisoners  were  taken,  who  were  not  includefl  in  the 
7,000  paroled  men  mentioned  by  Gen.  Lee,  we  do  not  think  we 
make  an  over-estimate  when  we  set  down  the  whole  Yankee  loss 
at  30,000  in  round  numbers.  Their  loss  on  Friday,  estimated 
by  Pope  himself  at  8,000,  added  to  their  loss  on  Saturday, 
makes  38,000.  Previous  operations,  including  the  battle  of 
Cedar  Run,  the  several  expeditions  of  Stuart,  and  the  various 
skirmishes  in  which  we  were  almost  uniformly  victorious,  we 
should  think  would  fairly  bring  the  total  loss  of  the  enemy  to 
50,000  men,  since  our  forces  first  crossed  the  Rapidan.  This 
is  a  result  almost  unequalled  in  the  history  of  modern  cam- 
paigns. 

The  results  of  Gen.  Lee's  strategy  were  indicative  of  the 
resources  of  military  genius.  Day  after  day  the  enemy  were 
beaten,  until  his  disasters  culminated  on  the  jlJlains  of  Ma- 
nassas. Day  after  day  our  officers  and  men  manifested  their 
superiority  to  the  enemy.  The  summer  campaign  in  Virginia 
had  been  conducted  by  a  single  army.  The  same  toil-worn 
troops  who  had  relieved  from  seige  the  city  of  Richmond,  had 
advanced  to  meet  another  invading  army,  reinforced  not  only 
by  the  defeated  army  of  McClellan,  but  by  the  fresh  corps  of 


38  SECOND    BATTLE    OF   MANASSAS,    ETC. 

Generals  Burnside  and  Hunter.  The  trials  and  marches  of 
these  troops  are  extraordinary  in  history.  Transportation  was 
inadequate ;  the  streams  which  they  had  to  cross  Avere  swollen 
to  unusual  height ;  it  was  only  by  forced  marches  and  repeated 
combats  they  could  turn  the  position  of  the  enemy,  and,  at 
last  succeeding  in  this,  and  forming  a  junction  of  their 
columns, 'in  the  face  of  greatly  superior  forces,  they  fought  the 
decisive  battle  of  the  30th  of  August,  the  crowning  triumph  of 
their  toil  and  valour. 

The  route  of  the  extraordinary  marches  of  our  troops  pre- 
sented, for  long  and  weary  miles,  the  touching  pictures  of  the 
trials  of  war.  Broken  down  soldiers  (not  all  "  stragglers  ") 
lined  the  road.  At  night  time  they  might  be  found  asleep  in 
every  conceivable  attitude  of  discomfort — on  fence  rails  and  in 
fence  corners — some  half  bent,  others  almost  erect,  in  ditches 
and  on  steep  hill-sides,  some  without  blanket  or  overcoat.  Day- 
break found  them  drenched  with  dew,  but  strong  in  purpose; 
"with  half  rations  of  bread  and  meat,  ragged  and  barefooted, 
they  go  cheerfully  forward.  No  nobler  spectacle  was  ever  pre- 
sented in  history.  These  beardless  youths  and  gray-hhired 
men,  who  thus  spent  their  nights  like  the  beasts  of  the  field, 
were  the  best  men  of  the  land — of  all  classes,  trades  and  pro- 
fessions. The  spectacle  was  such  as  to  inspire  the  prayer  that 
ascended  from  the  sanctuaries  of  the  South — that  God  might 
reward  the  devotion  of  these  men  to  principle  and  justice  by 
crowning  their  labours  and  sacrifices  with  that  blessing  which 
always  bringeth  peace. 

•The  victory  which  had  crowned  the  campaign  of  our  armies 
in  Virginia,  illuminates  the  names  of  all  associated  with  it. 
But  in  the  at;hievement  of  that  victory,  and  in  the  history  of 
that  campaign,  there  is  one  name  which,  in  a  few  months,  had 
mounted  to  the  zenith  of  fame  ;  which  in  dramatic  associations, 
in  rapid  incidents,  and  in  swift  and  sudden  renown,  challenged 
comparison  with  the  most  extraordinary  phenomena  in  the 
annals  of  military  genius.  This  remark  is  not  invidious  in  its 
spirit,  nor  is  it  forced  into  the  context  of  this  sketch.     A  per- 


SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS,    ETC.  89 

sonal  allusion  may  be  spared  in  the  narrative,  when  that 
allusion  is  to  the  most  remarkable  man  in  the  history  of  this 
war. 

We  refer  to  General  Stonewall  Jackson  and  that  wonderful 
chapter  of  military  achievements  which  commenced  in  the 
Valley  of  Virginia  and  concluded  at  Manassas.  It  was  difficult 
to  say  what  this  man  had  not  accomplished  that  had  ever 
before  been  accomplished  in  history  with  equal  means  and  in 
an  equal  period  of  time. 

In  the  spring  Gen.  Jackson  had  been  placed  in  command  of 
the  small  army  of  observation  which  held  the  upper  valley  of 
the  Shenandoah  and  the  country  about  Staunton.  It  was 
intended  that  he  should  remain  quasi  inactive,  to  watch  the 
enemy  and  to  wait  for  him  ;  but  he  soon  commenced  manoeuver- 
ing  on  his  own  responsibility,  and  ventured  upon  a  scale  of 
operations  that  threw  the  higher  military  authorities  at  Rich- 
mond into  a  fever  of  anxiety  and  alarm. 

In  less  than  thirty  days  he  dashed  at  Fremont's  advance, 
west  of  Staunton,  and  driving  it  back,  wheeled  his  army,  swept 
down  the  Valley  and  drove  Banks  across  the  Potomac,  lleturn- 
ing  to  the  upper  Valley,  he  manoeuvered  around  for  three 
weeks — in  the  meantime  dealing  Fremont  a  heavy  blow  at  Cross 
Keys  and  defeating  Shields  in  the  Luray  valley — and,  then  sud- 
denly swept  down  the  Virginia  Central  Railroad,  via  Gordons- 
ville,  on  McClellan's  right,  before  Richmond.  The  part  he 
played  in  winding  up  the  campaign  on  the  Peninsula  is  well 
known.  Almost  before  the  smoke  had  lifted  from  the  bloody 
field  of  the  Chickahominy,  we  hear  of  him  again  on  his  old 
stamping  ground  above  Gordonsville.  Cedar  Mountain  wag 
fought  and  won  from  Pope  before  he  knew  his  campaign  was 
opened.  Jackson  fell  back,  but  only  to  flank  him  on  the  right. 
Pope  retired  from  the  Rapidan  to  the  Rappahannock,  but 
Jackson  swung  still  further  round  to  the  North  and  outflanked 
him  again.  Yet  again  he  gave  up  the  Rappahannock  and  fell 
back  south  of  Warren  ton,  and,  for  the  third  time,  Jackson  out- 


40  SECOND  BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS,   ETC. 

flanked  him  through  Thoroughfare  Gap,  and  at  last  got  in  his 
rear.  Pope  now  had  to  fight ;  and  the  victory  which  perched 
upon  our  banners  was  the  most  brilliant  of  the  war. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  with  what  insolent  confidence  the 
North  had  anticipated  a  crowning  triumph  of  its  avms  on  the 
field  of  Manassas,  even  when  the  air  around  Washington  was 
burdened  with  the  signals  of  its  defeat.  The  North  did  not 
tolerate  the  idea  of  defeat.  On  the  very  day  of  the  battle, 
"Washington  was  gay  with  exultation  and  triumph  over  an  im- 
agined victory.  At  thirty  minutes  past  twelve  o'clock,  the 
'Washington  Star  published  a  dispatch  declaring,  that  it  had 
learned  from  parties  just  from  Fairfax  county,  that  the  firing 
had  stopped;  and  adding,  "we  trust  the  fact  means  a  surrender 
of  the  rebels,  and  do  not  see  how  it  can  mean  aught  else."  At 
a  later  hour  of  the  afternoon,  a  dispatch  was  received  at  the 
War  Department,  from  Major-Gcneral  Pope,  announcing  a 
brilliant  victory  in  a  decisive  battle  with  the  Confederate  forces 
on  the  old  Bull  Run  battle-field.  It  was  stated  that  he  had 
defeated  the  Confederate  army,  and  was  driving  it  in  discomfi- 
ture before  him.  This  dispatch  had  a  magical  effect.  The  War 
Department,  contrary  to  its  usual  custom,  not  only  permitted, 
but  oflficially  authorized  the  publication  of  the  dispatch.  Citi- 
zens of  every  grade,  of  both  Sexes  and  of  all  ages,  were  seen 
in  groups  around  the  corners  and  in  the  places  of  public  resort 
speculating  upon  the  particu4ars  and  the  consequences  of  the 
decisive  victory  reported.  The  triumph  of  the  Federal  arms 
■was  apparently  shown  to  be  more  complete  by  reason  of  the 
announcement  that  General  Stonewall  Jackson,  with  sixteen 
thousand  of  his  troops,  had  been  cut  off  and  captured. 

It  was  at  this  point  of  exultation  that  another  dispatch  was 
received  from  General  Pope,  stating  that  the  uncertain  tide  of 
battle  had  unfortunately  turned  against  the  Federal  army,  and 
that  he  had  been  compelled  to  abandon  the  battle-field  during 
the  evening.  The  revulsion  was  great;  the  untimely  hallelu- 
jahs were  interrupted,  and  the  population  of  Washington,  from 


SECOND    BATTLE    OF   MANASSAS,    ETC.  41 

its  hasty  and  indecent  exultations  of  the  morning,  was  soon  to 
be  converted  into  a  panic-stricken  community,  trembling  for 
its  own  safety. 

Indeed,  the  victory  achieved  by  the  Confederates  was  far 
more  serious  than  the  most  Hvtly  alarm  in  Washington  could 
at  first  imagine.  The  next  morning  after  the  battle,  the  last 
feeble  resistance  of  the  Federals  at  Centreville  was  broken. 
The  finishing  stroke  was  given  by  the  Confederates  under  Gen. 
A.  r.  Hill,  who,  on  the  1st  of  September,  (Monday,)  encoun- 
tered a  large  body  of  the  enemy  at  Germantown,  a  small  vil- 
lage in  Fairfax  county,  near  the  main  road  leading  from  Cen- 
treville to  Fairfax  Court  House.  The  enemy,  it  appears,  had 
succeeded  in  rallying  a  sufficient  number  of  their  routed  troops 
at  the  point  named,  to  make  another  show  of  opposition  to  the 
advance  of  the  victorious  Confederates  on  their  capital.  On 
Sunday,  the  pursuit  of  Pope's  army  was  commenced  and  pressed 
with  vigour  on  the  Fairfax  Court  House  road,  and  on  Monday 
morning  at  daylight  the  enemy  were  discovered  drawn^up  in 
line  of  battle  across  the  road,  their  right  extending  to  the  vil- 
lage of  Germantown.  General  Hill  immediately  ordered  the 
attack,  and  after  a  brief  but  hotly  contested  fight,  the  enemy 
withdrew.  During  the  night,  the  enemy  fell  back  to  Fairfax 
Court  House  and  abandoned  his  position  at  Centreville.  The 
next  day,  about  noon,  he  evacuated  Fairfax  Court  House,  tak- 
ing the  roads  to  Alexandria  and  Washington. 

Thus  were  realized  the  full  and  glorious  results  of  the  second 
victory  of  Manassas ;  thus  were  completed  the  great  objects  of 
.the  brilliant  summer  campaign  of  1862  in  Virginia ;  and  thus, 
for  a  second  time,  on  the  famous  borders  of  the  Potomac,  the 
gates  were  thrown  wide  open  to  the  invasion  of  the  North,  and 
to  new  fields  of  enterprise  for  the  victorious  armies  of  the 
South., 


'J;  ^^»  rj 


42  SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS,   ETC. 


VII. 


"We  do  not  propose  to  extend  this  narrative  by  any  detailed 
accounts  of  the  operations  of  our  army  across  the  borders  of 
the  Potomac.  "We  shall  follow  it  into  Maryland  and  name  the 
events  that  induced  its  return  to  Virginia,  merely  for  the  pur- 
pose of  summing  the  results  of  the  campaign,  and  reaching  a 
stand-point  of  intelligent  reflection  on  the  situation  as  it  exists 
at  the  time  of  this  writing. 

There  is  one  point  to  which  the  mind  naturally  refers  for  a 
just  historical  interpretation  of  the  Maryland  campaign.  The 
busy  attempts  of  newspapers  to  pervert  the  truth  of  history 
have  been  renewed  in  an  cflfort  to  misrepresent  the  designs  of 
General  Lee  in  crossing  the  Potomac,  as  limited  to  a  mere  in- 
cursioji,  the  object  of  which  Avas  to  take  Harper's  Ferry,  and 
that  accomplished,  to  return  into  Virginia  and  await  the  move- 
ments of  McClellan.  It  is  not  possible  that  our  commanding 
general  can  be  a  party  to  this  pitiful  deceit,  to  cover  up  any 
failure  of  his,  or  that  he  has  viewed  with  anything  but  disgust 
the  offer  of  falsehood  and  misrepresentation  made  to  him  by 
flatterers. 

Let  it  be  freely  confessed,  that  the  object  of  General  Lee 
in  crossing  the  Potomac  was  to  hold  and  occupy  Maryland;  that 
his  proclamation  issued  at  Frederick,  offering  protection  to  the 
Marylanders,  is  incontrovertible  evidence  of  this  fact;  that  he, 
was  forced  to  return  to  Virginia,  not  by  stress  of  any  single 
battle,  but  by  the  force  of  many  circumstances,  some  of  which 
history  will  blush  to  record ;  that,  in  these  respects,  the  Mary- 
land campaign  was  a  failure.  But  it  was  a  failure  relieved  by 
brilliant  episodes,  mixed  with  at  least  one  extraordinary  tri- 
umph of  our  arms,  and  to  a  great  extent  compensated  by  many 
Bolid  results. 

In  the  brief  campaign  in  Maryland,  our  army  had  given  the 


SECOND    BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS,    ETC.  43 

most  brilliant  illustrations  of  valour;  it  had  given  the  enemy  at 
Harper's  Ferry  a  reverse  without  parallel  in  the  history  of  the 
■vvar;  it  had  inflicted  upon  him  a  loss  in  men  and  material 
greater  than  our  own  ;  and,  in  retreating  into  Virginia,  it  left 
hira  neither  spoils  nor  prisoners,  as  evidence  of  the  successes 
he  claimed.  The  indignant  comment  of  the  New  York  Tribune 
on  Lee's  retirement  into  Virginia  is  the  enemy's  own  record  of 
the  barren  results  that  were  left  them.  "He  leaves  us,"  said 
this  paper,  "the  debris  of  his  late  camps,  two  disabled  pieces 
of  artillery,  a  few  hundred  of  his  stragglers,  perhaps  two  thou- 
sand of  his  wounded,  and  as  many  more  of  his  unburied  dead. 
Not  a  sound  field-piece,  caisson,  ambulance  or  wagon,  not  a 
tent,  a  box  of  stores  or  a  pound  of  ammunition.  He  takes 
with  him  the  supplies  gathered  in  Maryland,  and  the  rich  spoils 
of  Harper's  Ferry."  The  same  paper  declared,  that  the  fail- 
ure of  ]Maryland  to  rise  or  to  contribute  recruits,  (all  the  acces- 
sions to  our  force,  obtained  in  this  State,  did  not  exceed  eight 
hundred  men,)  was  the  defeat  of  Lee,  and  about  the  only  defeat 
he  did  sustain;  that  the  Confederate  losses  proceeded  mainly 
from  the  failure  of  their  own  exaggerated  expectations;  that 
Lee's  retreat  over  the  Potomac  was  a  master-piece ;  and,  that 
the  manner  in  which  he  combined  Hill  and  Jackson  for  the  en- 
velopment of  Harper's  Ferry,  while  he  checked  the  Federal 
columns  at  Hagerstown  Heights  and  Crampton  Gap,  was  pro- 
bably the  best  achievement  of  the  war. 

It  is  easy  by  a  general  outline  to  track  the  brief  but  memo- 
rable campaign  in  Mar^'land. 

After  the  advance  of  our  array  to  Frederick,  the  Northern 
journals  were  filled  with  anxious  reports  of  a  movement  of  our 
troops  in  the  direction  of  Pennsylvania.  It  noAv  appears  that 
■while  the  people  of  the  North  were  agitated  with  these  reports 
there  was  really  no  foundation  for  them,  and  that  for  the  present 
the  important  movement  undertaken  by  Gen.  Lee  was  in  the 
direction  of  Virginia.  It  appears  that  for  this  purpose  our 
forces  in  Maryland  were  divided  into  three  corps,  commanded 
by  Generals  Jackson,  Longstreet  and   Hill.     The  forces  under 


44  SECOND   BATTLE   OF   MANASSAS,    ETC. 

Jackson,  having  re-crossed  the  Potomac  at  Williamsport,  and 
taken  possession  of  Martinsburg,  had  then  passed  rapidly  behind 
Harper's  Ferry,  that  a  capture  might  be  eflfected  of  the  garrison 
and  stores  known  to  be  there.  In  the  meantime  the  corps  of 
Longstreet  and  Hill  were  put  in  position  to  cover  the  operations 
of  Jackson,  and  to  hold  back  McClellan's  forces,  which  were 
advancing  to  the  relief  of  Harper's  Ferry. 

The  first  we  hear  of  McClellan  is  at  Boonsboro',  Washington 
county,  which  is  nearly  cqui-distant  from  Frederick,  Harper's 
Ferry,  and  Hagerstown,  being  between  twelve  and  fifteen  miles 
from  each.  Near  this  place,  at  a  point  where  the  turnpike 
road  crosses  the  Blue  ridge,  and  where  Generals  D.  H.  Hill 
and  Stuart  had  been  posted  to  guard  the  passes  of  the  moun- 
tain, occurred  the  battle  of  Sunday,  the  14th  September.  In 
this  engagement  Gen.  Hill's  right  had  been  forced  back  ;  he 
was  reinforced  by  Longstreet,  who  restored  our  right,  success- 
fully resisted  the  enemy's  most  determined  efforts  to  force  a 
passage,  and  rendered  his  intended  relief  of  Harper's  Ferry 
impossible  of  accomplishment. 

While  this  action  was  in  progress,  and  the  enemy  attempting 
to  force  his  way  through  the  main  pass  on  the  Frederick  and 
Hagerstown  road,  the  capture  of  Harper's  Ferry  was  accom- 
plished by  the  army  corps  of  General  Jackson.  The  extent  of 
this  conquest  is  determined  by  the  following  dispatch  of  Gen. 
Jackson : 

HEADQUARtERS  VaLLKY  DISTRICT,  "l 

September  I'otb,  18G2.      J 
Colonel  :     Yesterday  God  crowned  our  arms  with  another  brilliant  success 
on  the  surrender,  at  Harper's  Ferry,  of  Brigadier-General  White  and  11,000 
troops,  an  equal  number  of  small  arms,  73  pieces  of  artillery  and  about  200 
wagons. 

In  addition  to  other  stores,  there  is  a  large  amount  of  camp  and  garrison 
equipage.     Our  loss  was  very  small.     The  meritorious  conduct  of  oflicers  and 
men  will  be  mentioned  in  a  more  extended  report. 
I  am,  Colonel, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

T.  J.  JACKSON, 
Major-General. 
Col.  E.  H.  Chilton,  A.  A.  General. 


SECOND  BATTLE  OP  MANASSAS,  ETC.  45 

The  force  which  surrendered  at  Harper's  Ferry  consisted  of 
twelve  regiments  of  infantry,  three  companies  of  cavalry  and 
six  companies  of  artillery. 

On  the  17th  of  September  it  appears  that  General  Lee  had 
retired  to  unite  his  whole  army  to  confront  the  still  advancing 
forces  of  McClellan,  which,  having  obtained  possession  of 
Crampton's  Gap  on  the  direct  road  from  Frederick  City  to 
Sharpsburg,  were  pressing  our  forces  and  seemed  determined 
on  a  decisive  battle.  Sharpsburgh  is  about  ten  miles  north  of 
Harper's  Ferry,  and  about  eight  miles  west  of  Boonsboro'. 

The  close  of  the  great  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  fought  against 
three-fold  odds,  left  us  at  night  in  possession  of  one  of  the 
bloodcst  fields  in  history.  The  next  morning  McClellan  had 
disappeared  from  our  front ;  and  knowing  the  superiority  of 
the  enemy's  numbers,  and  not  willing  to  risk  the  combinations 
he  was  attempting,  Gen.  Lee  crossed  the  Potomac  without 
molestation  and  took  position  at  or  near  Shepherdstown. 

Such  have  been  the  general  movements  of  the  Maryland 
campaign.*     We  have  referred  to  it  in  this  general  manner 

•  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  just  summary  of  the  campaign  in 
Northern  Virginia  and  on  the  Upper  Potomac,  or  one  the  statements  of 
Tvhich  may  be  more  safely  appropriated  by  history  than  the  following  address 
of  Gen.  Lee  to  his  army  : 

"  Headquarters  Army  Northern  Virginia,  "» 
October  2d,  1862.  J 

General  Orders,  Ko.  116. 

In  reviewing  the  achievements  of  the  array  during  the  present  campaign, 
the  Commanding  General  cannot  withhold  the  expression  of  his  admiration  of 
the  indomitable  courage  it  has  displayed  in  battle,  and  its  cheerful  endurance 
of  privation  and  hardship  on  the  march. 

Since  your  great  victories  around  Richmond  you  have  defeated  the  enemy 
at  Cedar  Mountain,  expelled  him  from  the  Rappahannock,  and,  after  a  con- 
flict of  three  days,  utterly  repulsed  him  on  the  Plains  of  Manassas,  and  forced 
him  to  take  shelter  within  the  fortifications  around  his  capital. 

Without  halting  for  repose  you  crossed  the  Potomac,  stormed  the  heights 
of  Harper's  Ferry,  made  prisoners  of  more  than  eleven  thousand  men,  and. 
captured  upwards  of  seventy  pieces  of  artillery,  all  their  small  arms  and  other 
munitions  of  war. 

While  one  corps  of  the  army  was  thus  engage  1,  the  other  insured  its  sue- 


46  SECOND    BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS,    ETC. 

merely  to  determine  its  liislorical  features,  without  an  enume- 
ration 0^  details.  We  have  seen  that  it  was  mixed  \Yith  much 
of  triumph  to  us  ;  that  it  added  lustre  to  our  arms ;  that  it  in- 
flicted no  loss  upon  us  for  which  we  did  not  exact  full  retribu- 
tion ;  that  it  left  thc.enemy  nothing  but  barren  results  ;  ami  that 
it  gave  us  a  valuable  lesson  of  the  state  of  public  opinion  in 
Maryland. 

The  army  which  rests  again  in  Virginia  has  made  a  history 
that  will  flash  down  the  tide  of  time  a  lustre  of  glory.  It  has 
done  an  amount  of  marching  and  fighting  that  appears  almost 
incredible  even  to  those  minds  familiar  with  the  records  of 
great  military  exertions.  Leaving  the  banks  of  James  River, 
it  proceeded  directly  to  the  line  of  the  Rappahannock,  and 
moving  out  from  that  river,  it  fought  its  way  to  the  Potomac, 
crossed  that  stream  and  moved  on  to  Fiedericktown  and  Ila- 
gerstown,  hc»d  a  heavy  engagement  at  ljoonsl)oro'  Gap,  and 
another  at  Crampton  Gap  below,  fought  the   greatest  pitched 


cess  by  arrcstinp  at  Boonsboro'  tlie  combined  armies  of  the  enomy,  advancing 
under  their  faviurite  General  to  the  relief  of  their  l)ele:imiered  comrades. 

On  the  field  of  Sliarpsburg,  with  less  than  one-third  his  numbers,  you  re- 
Bisted,  from  daylight  until  dark,  the  whole  army  of  tlie  enemy,  and  repulsed 
every  attack  along  his  entire  front,  of  more  than  four  miles  ia  extent. 

The  whole  of  the  following  day  you  atood  prepared  to  resume  the  conflict 
on  the  same  grouud,  and  retired  next  morning,  without  molestation,  across 
the  Potomac. 

Two  attempts,  subsequently  made  by  the  enemy,  to  follow  yoi  acri>ss  the 
river,  have  resulted  in  his  complete  discomfiture,  and  being  driven  back  with 

loss. 

Achievements  such  as  these  demanded  much  valour  and  patriotism.  His- 
tory records  few  examples  of  greater  fortitude  und  endurance  than  this  areny 
has  exhibited;  and  lam  commissionod  by  the  President  to  thank  you,  in  the 
name  of  the  Confederate  States  for  the  undying  fame  you  have  won  for  their 
arms. 

^luch  as  you  have  done,  much  more  remains  to  be  accomplished.  The 
enemy  again  threatens  us  with  invasion,  and  to  your  tried  valour  and  patriot- 
ism the  country  looks  with  confidence  for  delivcranco  and  safety.  Your  past 
exploits  give  assurance  that  this  confidence  is  not  misplaced. 

II.  E.  LEo, 
General  Commanding." 


SECOND  BATTLE  OF  MANASSAS,  ETC.  47 

battle  of  the  war  at  Sharpsburg ;  and  then  re-crossed  the  Po- 
tomac back  into  Virginia.  During  all  this  time,  covering  the 
full  space  of  a  month,  the  troops  rested  but  four  days.  Ol^the 
men  who  performed  these  wonders  one-fifth  of  them  were  bare- 
footed, one-half  of  them  in  rags,  and  the  whole  of  them  half- 
famished. 

The  remarkable  campaign  which  we  have  briefly  sketched, 
extending  from  the  banks  of  the  James  River  to  those  of  the 
Potomac,  has  impressed  the  world  with  wonder  and  admiration, 
has  excited  an  outburst  T)f  applause  among  living  nations, 
which  anticipates  the  verdict  of  posterity,  and  has  set  the 
whole  of  Europe  ringing  with  praises  of  the  heroism  and 
fighting  qualities  of  the  Southern  armies.  The  South  is 
already  obtaining  some  portion  of  the  moral  rewards  of  this 
war,  in  the  estimation  in  which  she  is  held  by  the  great  martial 
nations  of  the  world.  She  has  purchased  the  rank  with  a 
bloody  price.  She  has  extorted  homage  from  the  most  intelli- 
gent and  influential  organs  of  public  opinion  in  the  Old  World, 
from  men  well  versed  in  the  history  of  ancient  and  modern 
times,  and  from  those  great  critics  of  cotemporary  history, 
which  are  least  accustomed  to  the  language  of  extravagant 
compliment.  The  following  tribute  from  the  London  "  Times," 
is  echoed  by  the  other  journals  of  Europe.  It  is  no  ordinary 
heroism  that  could  draw  such  a  tribute  from  such  a  source  ; 
and  in  the  midst  of  new  auguries,  the  pressure  of  current 
events,  and  the  uncertainty  of  the  future,  we  may,  yet,  pause 
with  confidence  to  transcribe  it  as  a  memorial  and  testimony  to 
posterity : 

'•  The  people  of  the  Confederate  States  hdvo  made  themselves  famous.  If 
the  renown  of  brilliant  courage,  stern  devotion  to  a  cause,  and  military 
achievements  almost  without  a  parallel,  can  compensate  men  for  the  toil  and 
privations  of  t!ie  hour,  then  the  countr3'men  of  Lee  and  Jackson  may  be  con- 
soled amid  their  sufferings.  From  all  parts  of  Europe,  from  their  enemies  aa 
well  as  their  friends,  from  those  who  condemn  their  acts  as  well  as  those  who 
sympathize  with  them,  comes  the  tribute  of  admiration.  When  the  iiistory 
of  this  war  is  written  the  admiration  will  doubtless  become  deeper  and 
stronger,  for  the  veil  which  has  covered  the  South  will  be  drawn  away  and 
disclose  a  picture  of  patriotism,  of  unanimous  self-sacrifice,  of  wise  and  firm 


48  SECOND    BATTLE    OF    MANASSAS,   ETC. 

administration,  which  wc  can  now  only  sco  indistincUj.  The  details  of  that 
extraoniinary  nationftl  elTort  which  has  led  to  the  repubo  and  almost  to  the 
destruction  of  an  inva<ling  force  of  more  than  half  a  million  men,  will  then 
become  known  to  the  world,  and,  whatever  may  be  the  fate  of  the  new  na- 
tionality, or  its  subsequent  claims  to  the  respect  of  mankind,  it  will  assuredly 
begin  its  career  with  a  reputation  for  genius  and  valour  which  the  most  fa- 
mous nations  may  envy." 


THE  FIRST  V 


